snow or ashes?
by MargaritaDaemonelix
Summary: Elesis wouldn't catch the Firebird, so they cast her out of the kingdom. Instead, she became the Firebird.
1. Elesis

I.

The feather is not the beginning.

It is only the end.

One moment Elesis is picking up the red feather, feeling the warmth radiate into her hand. The next, she is standing in front of the king.

"Where did you find this feather, maiden?" He demands, plucking it out of her fingers and running it through his own. "Speak."

"In the field outside my home," she replies. "I was-"

The king holds his hand up for silence, and Elesis flinches and is silent. "You have been blessed by the Firebird," he declares, holding the feather high above his head. "You can save our kingdom!"

And all people in the court cheer, they cheer for prosperity and the king, but no one cheers for Elesis, because she is just a girl who works at her father's forge to keep their business afloat. No one cheers for Elesis, the girl who has been "blessed" by the Firebird.

The king takes her hand, and leads her out to the courtyard in the middle of the castle, and Elesis does not open her mouth. If she does, she will scream and run far, far away from the king and his miserable excuse of a castle.

Elesis has been running all her life. She does not want to run anymore.

In the middle of the courtyard stands the kingdom's prized possession, a majestic tree that glows in warm gold even in the cold winter light. The castle was built around this beautiful tree, and the foundations of the kingdom built on its roots.

It is a simple apple tree with golden leaves that never die and golden bark that tastes like vanilla sugar. It bears golden apples, four times a year, golden globes that drip with the golden nectar of the gods.

Never, in the thousand-year history of the kingdom, has this tree _ever_ come close to dying.

She takes the golden apple with both hands when the king hands it to her. She turns it over in her hands. There are no blemishes on the surface of the apple. It is perfect.

Too perfect.

"Use this to catch the Firebird for me," the king whispers, much too close to her for comfort. "If you succeed, you will marry my son and become my successor."

Elesis is a blacksmith's daughter. She does not want to become a princess.

For six days, she stands on the castle wall, waiting for the Firebird.

For six days, the Firebird does not come.

On the seventh day, Elesis is beyond exhausted. She has had no food, no sleep, only the falling snow to drink as water. She has looked longingly into the golden apple in her hand, and put it against her lips, kissing it as if that would give her the strength to keep going.

On the seventh day, the Firebird comes, and it is _determined_ to get that apple in Elesis' hands at all costs.

Suddenly Elesis is washed over by a rain of fire, as she wrestles with the Firebird for the golden apple. There are flames lapping at her face, but she has one hand wrapped around the Firebird's charred talon.

Elesis looks up into the mournful eyes of a bird that has been pursued by a ruthless hunter for a millennium.

She does not see a monster who threatens the livelihood of the kingdom. She sees a creature struggling to survive.

This is no ordinary bird, after all. It is a Firebird, the most elusive of avians.

She lets go.

The Firebird leaves with its talon intact, and the golden apple clutched in the other.

Elesis watches it go as she sits alone in the snow.

The guards come to arrest her shortly, not only for failing to capture the Firebird on the king's orders but _giving_ the Firebird the golden apple, the kingdom's treasure.

She is marched through the city as the citizens gather round, to see what the fuss is about. She cannot see her friends, her family. She knows the guards have gone to stop them from taking her back. She doesn't care.

Elesis is just a blacksmith's daughter. She didn't want to be a princess, and she still refuses to be one. And if that means she's going to be thrown in a prison and left to rot, so be it. Her father didn't raise her to submit to anyone's will but her own.

The guards throw her just outside the city walls, into the wilderness that is the rest of the kingdom, into the snowy ocean of winter. "Elesis Sieghart," the king says, disappointment and sadistic pleasure lining his smile, "you have failed me and the kingdom. For this, you are banned from our city. Should any of my guard or any of our citizens see you again, they will be obligated to execute you."

She smiles back at him, but it is emotionless. She is too tired to argue, but if she opened her mouth, a million scathing words would pour out, full of anger and deep hatred and spite.

The entourage go back into the city, and Elesis does not move as the city doors grate to a stop.

Then, and only then, is Elesis truly alone.

* * *

 **A/N: if you've been wondering where I've been this past month it's because this sucker of an idea wouldn't let go until I started writing it**

 **I am _mortified_ that there are no Elesis/Rose fics in this archive, or at least any EleRose centric fics, so I decided to make my own**

 **Also this is the shortest chapter of anything that I've ever posted but next chapter will be longer I swear**

 **~Marg**


	2. Rose

II.

Rose has never shot a deer in her life.

She checks her snares everyday for pheasants and grouses. Sometimes rabbits get caught in the snares too, but Rose always releases them. The fowl will always come, but not the bunnies.

Many years ago, when Papa was still with them, he brought Rose with him deep into the forest, and there they waited for hours and hours without talking or moving, until they found a deer.

"Look, Anna," he'd said, "the baby deer has a Maman, just like you and your sisters."

"We're not going to kill them, are we, Papa?" Rose had asked, like the little girl she was.

"No." Papa had shouldered his musket and smiled. "Let's go home, Anna. We'll have to tell Maman that the deer got away."

Rose has found many deer since that day, but she has not shot any of them.

But today, she sees, far in the distance, a wisp of the form of a deer, shadows that dance and play on the far edge of her vision. Even from her position, lying on her stomach in the snow, she can see the smooth movement that can only belong to a deer.

Today, she's going to bring a deer home to Maman.

As the deer comes closer, it grows in size and shape. What Rose had thought were its antlers turn into a slim tree.

That is _not_ a deer.

Rose closes her eyes and lets her instincts take over. The light of the forest dims and the sounds take over. Birds. Wind. Breath. Crinkling snow. Footsteps, twenty metres away tops.

Opening her eyes, Rose takes aim and pulls the trigger.

The bullet flies, flies, flies, and then there's an unholy screech and a short scream as the not-a-deer falls to the ground.

Rose knows immediately that she's fucked up.

She crawls out of the snowbank and kicks up into a run, towards the rider whose horse she just shot.

The first words out of her mouth are "oh god I'm so sorry" and they collide almost immediately with the rider's "what just happened" and everything's a mess and Rose doesn't know what she's done but she knows she's fucked up this time.

She looks at the rider, who is brushing snow off their shoulder. "I just shot your horse," she says breathlessly. "I… Oh god, I just shot your horse."

And indeed, the not-a-deer was this rider and their horse. Rose only saw hooves and slender legs in the distance, and now in close up, she sees the same for the horse.

Er, maybe less slender legs.

But the bullet only grazed by the horse's belly, and left a small wound that'll be easy to patch up, which means even with the not-a-deer, Rose wasn't able to really shoot it.

Even so, the horse is injured, and it's Rose's fault for thinking it was a deer to begin with. "I'll patch your horse up," she blurts. "And you can come in to my house and rest while your horse is healing."

The rider laughs softly. "Don't worry about the horse." They toss their white hood back, revealing an unruly mane of dark red hair and curious eyes of the same colour. "Call me Elesis."

Rose takes her new friend's hand and shakes it. "Rose," she says, bringing the _e_ up the way it's supposed to be pronounced. From her birth name. Roseanne.

Elesis makes a face. "Rosie?" She tries. "Rose-ay?"

"Close, not quite," Rose chuckles. "Just Rose is fine, without the accent."

Together, they lift the horse back to its feet, and Rose watches in genuine awe as Elesis murmurs to the creature, quelling its fears and getting it to calm down. "He's a sturdy horse," Elesis says, stroking its mane gently. "A little scrape or two shouldn't hurt him. You just… Startled him. And me."

Rose decides that if Elesis is this gentle with a horse, she can't be all that bad of a person. "Do you work with horses for a living?"

"Kind of," Elesis replies, a wry smile on her face. "I'm a blacksmith. I usually make pots and pans and horseshoes and things. People bring me their horses all the time so they can get their horseshoes fitted. I've had more than my fair share of horses."

As they begin to head to Rose's home, Elesis tells her about herself, after a bit of badgering. "I grew up in Elder City," she explains. "My father is a blacksmith, and I was his apprentice."

"Why'd you leave, though?" Rose asks. She's had dreams of the big city since she was a child, wondering when Papa would take her to buy supplies with him from an early age. This is the first time she's met someone from Elder in person.

A kind of weary sadness descends on Elesis, like she's dealt with too much. "Have you heard of the Firebird?"

Suddenly Rose is very much alert. "Of course," she says. "Maman and Papa told me about the Firebird all the time when I was a child."

She doesn't mention the years she spent in front of the bookshelf, trying to reach and then read the book of fairy tales while Papa and Maman weren't looking. She doesn't mention the devastation she felt when her sisters told her _it's all just a myth, a story_.

"It's real."

Rose stares at Elesis in shock, terror even. "I'm serious, it's real," Elesis chuckles. "It left a feather outside my window, and I picked it up and gave it to the king."

Her eyes suddenly darken. "He told me I'd been "blessed" by the Firebird," she continues, anger beginning to seep into her words. "And I was supposed to catch the Firebird for him."

"You didn't, did you," Rose realizes.

"I couldn't." Elesis shrugs. "So the dirty old geezer kicked me out of Elder City, I now have a bounty on my head, and I don't even know if my dad and my brother are alive or not."

They walk in silence for a while. "That was all two years ago," Elesis says quietly after a long, long time. "I made it to the nearest village and did some work for the local blacksmith. Got enough to buy this boy-" She pats the horse gently. "-and now I'm heading out into the world again."

"What for?" Rose asks.

There's a sort of wild, dangerous fire in Elesis' eyes as she grins. "I'm going to find that Firebird again," she says. "Because I take orders from no one but myself."

* * *

The window in the kitchen is open, which means Maman is frying donuts, and even from outside Rose can smell the rich pheasant fat, sizzling in the pot.

"Maman, Maman, je suis retournée," she yells as she throws open the door, motioning Elesis to come inside after she closes the barn door. "I brought a visitor, Maman."

"Oh, you have? Bring them in, Anna," Maman replies. She still has a lot of donuts left to fry.

Rose takes the opportunity to snatch two donuts from the pan, sticking one in her mouth and handing the other to Elesis, who has just walked in. "Eat," she says, voice muffled by the (piping hot!) donut between her lips.

Elesis takes the donut, ignoring how it's still dripping burning oil, and crams it in her mouth. "Mmm!" She gives Rose the thumbs up with both her hands.

As Elesis wanders into the kitchen and begins to talk to Maman, Rose goes to grab firewood from the woodpile. It's not snowing anymore, but the snowstorm of the night before left a layer of crinkling snow on the woodpile. She pushes it aside and takes some of the split logs from the bottom, bringing them indoors and leaving them by the stove.

She left the two pheasants she snared yesterday in the snow box, so they wouldn't go bad. Now, she runs back out and opens the box, digging through the snow and fishing out the fowl. They seem to be unscathed by bacteria-it's cold enough outside to preserve prey. One will be more than enough for all three, though it might have been a long time since Elesis last ate. Rose hopes it'll be enough.

Rose brushes the snow coat off the pheasant and brings it indoors, locking the door as she comes in. She sets the bird down, takes her mittens off and finds a towel to wipe her boots off. She leaves her mitts by the fireplace to let them dry off, hangs her (Papa's) musket on its hooks, and brings the pheasant to the kitchen.

Maman has finished frying the donuts, but the pile doesn't seem any higher than it was before. Elesis has a half-eaten donut in hand and a huge grin on her face that matches Maman's.

It makes Rose happy that Maman can find a little happiness as well. Even though Edna comes around once a month to visit, Rose knows how lonely it gets with just her and Maman in the house. Unlike Maman, she has no patience and too many thoughts, so she goes looking for deer, weird plants, anything to keep her mind off the loneliness.

"Anna, I hope you've properly apologized to this young lady," Maman chides as Rose walks back into the kitchen, setting the pheasant on the counter. "I know you want to bring home a deer, but shooting someone's horse! Imagine if you hit Elesis!"

"I'm sorry," Rose tells Elesis, bowing slightly. "For shooting your horse. And almost hitting you. And that you had to put up with Maman's antics."

She gets a scuff over the head and a chuckle in return.

Maman stuffs the pheasant with bread that she baked that morning and dried onions and things from her spice cabinet. She puts it in the oven and goes back to her knitting, humming to herself. She's making a pair of thick socks for Edna when she comes home this month, and another pair for her to take to Cora.

While the pheasants are roasting and Maman knits, Rose takes Elesis to explore the house. To keep warm in the winter so they don't freeze, they bring their blankets and pillows to the living room, next to the fireplace, so the bedrooms are rather empty.

"This is the room I shared with my younger sister Cora," Rose explains. "She lives in the big city now. She's studying to be a doctor."

"You have other sisters?" Elesis asks, peering into the room. It's not much, just a bed and two dressers, one empty and one full.

"I have two elder sisters," Rose replies, taking her into the next room. "Edna is my eldest sister. She lives in Elder too, but she comes once a month to bring supplies for Maman and I. She's married now and she has a daughter."

The _o_ of surprise on Elesis's face tells a whole story. "Their little girl is named Darya," she recalls. "They run the general store. And your second sister?"

"Gone," Rose admits. It's been a long time. Maman doesn't talk about Kyra, and she doesn't either. "After Papa disappeared, Kyra ran. She left us a note and just… Left. In the middle of the night. We didn't know what to do for a long time."

"I bet she didn't, either," Elesis murmurs.

They look around the bedrooms for a while before Rose remembers that she was _blatantly stupid_ enough to shoot Elesis' horse, and quickly rushes to grab the canteen of spirits and some bandages to rush back out into the snow.

Her mittens haven't even fully dried when she pulls them back on and takes Elesis to the barn, where the cows live. Her horse stands in a stall, whinnying defiantly when they come in.

"Easy, boy," Elesis says, and he stands still. "There we go. Stop looking at Rose that way, she's already apologized to the both of us, like, five times."

Her horse stops pulling his lips back and stands still. Rose has no idea how she does it, but it gives the two of them ample space to clean up the wound a little more (they try not to get kicked) and to bandage it up.

"It's gonna be a while until it heals," Elesis says, "but he should be able to get going soon."

 _Good_ , Rose thinks. _I'm going to drown in guilt if he doesn't._

Maman calls them back to the house after that. Elesis is quiet as she says a prayer over the pheasants, and carves them. Rose does her best not to stare, at the new guest or at the meal.

After the prayer ends, Maman scoops up fluffy white meat and dark bones and onions and crumbling bread and puts it all into Elesis' plate. "Thank you, Mrs. Testarossa," she says softly. "May I?"

And as Rose and Maman watch in surprised silence, Elesis serves the both of them with the roasted pheasant, Maman first and then Rose. It's clear she's never encountered pheasant before, but she's familiar with the way to push away bones and scoop up just enough to be filling.

When she hands Rose's plate back to her, Rose wants to say many things.

She wants to say: _how are you doing this thing where you're super cool and mysterious at the same time? i really want to get to know you better because you can't just leave it at "i'm going to go find the Firebird and no one can tell me what i can/can't do" but you're also so full of surprises so i'm sorta scared to talk to you at all._

She actually says: "Thank you."

Elesis nods twice in acknowledgement, and then turns back to her own plate. "Mrs. Testarossa," she says solemnly and slowly after her first bite, "this is the best food I've had in my life."

Maman promptly bursts into tears.

They all sleep in front of the fireplace that night. Elesis and Rose move the bedspread from Edna and Kyra's room into the living room. They silently agree to let Maman have the berth closest to the fireplace so that she doesn't freeze. Rose insists on Elesis sleeping closer to the fireplace as well.

In the morning, when she wakes up, Elesis is the farthest away from the still smouldering fireplace. She's tucked in a tight blanket roll, and her lips are parted ever so slightly, like she's trying to kiss the taste of the morning frost.

Rose gets dressed quickly and sticks another log in the fire, fanning it lightly until it comes back to life, before moving to the kitchen to get the stove running. She rubs a tiny bit of alcohol on one of the logs before striking a match and lighting it.

Within minutes, the warmth of the stove has spread all across the kitchen, and into the rest of the house.

She turns to the bread basket, where Maman has wrapped two loaves of yesterday's bread in good fabric, and takes one out, slicing it thickly and laying the slices on the skillet.

"Whatcha doing?"

Rose yelps and drops the butter knife on the counter as she turns to face Elesis. "Goodness, I didn't think you'd be up at this ungodly hour," she exclaims. "I'm making us breakfast."

Elesis' eyes light up almost immediately. "Ooh. Sounds really good."

After she's spread creamy white butter on both sides of the slices, Rose sets the skillet on the stove. "Now we can wait for them to warm up."

Rose peeks into the living room. Maman is still fast asleep, which means it's time for her to get as much work done as she possibly can.

"Hey, Elesis," she says as she grabs the milk pans from the cupboard, "do you know how to milk a cow?"

They bundle up in scarves and mittens and head to the barn, where all the animals sleep together. Most of them are awake by the time they arrive. Elesis' horse is looking much better and significantly less crabby.

It turns out Elesis is well versed in most farm work. The two of them together finish milking the cows in record time, and Rose is pleasantly surprised to see Elesis hoisting an entire hay bale over her head with one hand only.

(Her upper arm strength must be a blacksmithing thing.)

They bring two full pans of milk back to the house, where Maman has woken up and is sleepily pulling the slices of bread off the skillet and into a plate. "Good morning, girls," she says, voice still soft with sleep, "did you two sleep well?"

"It was great," Elesis tells her enthusiastically. "Thank you, Mrs. Testarossa."

Rose smiles along.

She doesn't mention Elesis moving to the cold side of the living room in the middle of the night.

They eat their breakfast as Elesis tells stories of her two years as a blacksmith's apprentice, of the tools she's made and the people she's met, of all the times she snuck into the forge in the middle of the night to make her own things. She shows them all her hand-made buckles and buttons, and when Maman gets up to put another log in the stove, she winks at Rose and tugs back her cloak to reveal the pristine handle of a sword, hidden at her side.

After breakfast, Rose washes the dishes and the skillet while Elesis gets the fireplace back up and alive and Maman returns to her knitting. The house is warm and lively once more, and Maman is humming.

Rose splits what's left of the pheasant from the night before into two portions before realizing that not only do they have three people to feed, but there's nowhere near enough for all three. Instead, she leaves it in its canteen and fills her own with bread and a little pat of butter, packing it all in tightly.

"Elesis, do you have a canteen?" She asks.

"Yup," Elesis calls from the other room. "Lemme grab it real quick."

They fill her canteen with bread and butter, too. Rose opens the pantry door and takes out a jar of cucumber pickles, putting one in each canteen before closing them up.

"What are we going to do?" Elesis asks, slinging her canteen strap over her shoulder.

"We're gonna go check my snares for pheasants," Rose tells her, "and then maybe after that we can look for deer or bears."

Elesis grins. "I like that. Let's go fight a bear or something."

Rose has to stop and correct herself at the door, because instead of one leaving, there are now two. "Maman, nous partons!"

"Bien," Maman says. "Stay safe, and don't go shooting horses or their riders again!"

Rose goes red all over. Elesis chuckles beside her.

They leave the little house behind and trek into the woods, along the path Rose takes virtually every day. She sings her everyday walking song as Elesis skips along beside her, curiosity getting the better of her as she looks through the trees and gets a pile of snow dumped on her head.

"How do you remember your way back home?" She asks.

Rose doesn't really have an answer. It's just something ingrained into her, after years of checking the snares with Papa.

When they reach the first snare, there's nothing inside. Pheasants don't seem to have run through this area yet, considering there's no feathers or blood around. Rose takes to opportunity to explain to Elesis how Papa's snares work.

"That's probably really dangerous," Elesis comments when she's done. "Like, if you didn't see it ahead of you and stepped into it, wouldn't the snare pretty much snap your leg in half?"

"Well, it's not strong enough to do that," Rose assures her. "But yeah, I think it'd be really painful."

Papa never built snares strong enough to kill. A bunny or a fawn could get trapped just as easily as a pheasant or a grouse, and Rose knows she's seen enough dying bunnies for a lifetime.

They trek through the woods to find the next snare. Rose once spent an hour sitting in the tree over the snare, talking to a fledgling bird she found. There's a grouse in this snare, which Rose quickly dispatches with her knife after a murmured prayer.

"It's always painful doing this," she admits, wiping the edge of her knife in the snow. "But what other choice do I have? I can't let Maman go hungry."

Elesis is silent, but the light in her eyes dies a little.

They let the grouse bleed out against a tree until it stops dripping blood, and then they cram it into a rucksack and pack it with clean, sparkling white snow. "Let's get going before wolves find us," Rose says.

"Yeah," Elesis replies.

Her gaze flickers back to the bloody tree, but her eyes are quiet as she follows Rose deeper into the forest.

They don't find any bunnies in any more traps, which is good. Rose doesn't want to go through the pain of struggling to set one free, and she certainly doesn't want to subject Elesis to that kind of suffering. She finds a few more grouses in the other snares and sticks them in the sack with the first. They're hens, so they're significantly smaller than the pheasants. Rose knows she can eat an entire grouse and then some when she's hungry.

Snow begins to dance around them as the sun, high in the sky, fades out in clouds. Rose finds a tree with low branches, shoulders her musket, and climbs up. "Do you need a hand?"

Elesis shakes her head. "I climbed plenty of trees as a kid," she says, grinning as she grabs a branch and swings her legs upwards, hooking onto another branch and hoisting herself up. "I climbed a tree last Saturday because a kid put another kid's hat in a tree in the village."

Rose decides not to ask.

They find their perches on opposite branches and open their canteens. The bread isn't exactly warm, but it's warming, and it doesn't fill, but it's filling. Elesis does a silly thing and dips her pickle in butter. She says it tastes good, but Rose has her doubts.

(She tries it herself while Elesis isn't looking. It _is_ good.)

As they eat, Rose tells Elesis about the weather, how to tell when the sky is going to cry, and when it'll shake the tears out of its eyes. There are clouds overhead, but they are like little tufts of cotton, the ones that Maman saves for stuffing pillows and things. It shouldn't storm this evening.

"Look at that one," says Elesis, pointing into the sky. "Doesn't it look like a dragon?"

Rose squints and looks, but she genuinely cannot tell where this dragon begins and ends. "My eyesight isn't the greatest," she admits. "Maybe next time Edna comes, I should ask her to bring me a pair of glasses."

Eyeglasses are really, _really_ expensive, and she doesn't know if she can convince Edna to buy her a pair. Cora worked at a library for a year to finance her glasses.

Unlike Cora, Rose doesn't have a job.

Elesis grins. "Don't worry," she assures her. "I can make you a pair of glasses frames. You can just pop the lenses out of a magnifying glasses or something, cut them down to shape and then pop them in. Easy."

It seems so absurd that Elesis can provide such an easy answer to a million-dollar question. Maybe it's because she's spent her life making things, so she knows what she's doing, and how she's doing it. If she can't find it or buy it, her instinct is to make it herself.

Rose knows that instinct, but not in the capacity that Elesis knows it.

They talk about glasses, and Elder, and Edna's general store, and Rose's little niece Darya, who is turning five soon. They talk about Maman's knitting, and Rose's hunting, and Elesis' blacksmithing. They talk about Rose's sisters, and Elesis' brother, and they exchange stupid stories.

It's a happy afternoon, and Rose doesn't want to let go of it.

She hasn't had a friend in a long time. Edna got married six years ago and Cora left the year after that, leaving just her and Maman in the house. Cora cried for two months before they finally managed to convince her to go, because it would be such a waste of her beautiful brain if she didn't!

Rose told herself that for a year after Cora left. Now, she and Maman have sunk into this cycle of loneliness.

Elesis is a blessing, she comes to understand. It's quite nice having someone to talk to, after so much silence for so long.

Rose doesn't want to let go of this kind of happiness.

It's only when she starts to see the sunset that she's suddenly reminded of the grouses in her pack and the fact that Maman must be waiting at home, alone.

She must be worried sick.

"Oh shit," she says very quietly, putting her most recent conversation with Elesis (about pickled watermelon rind) on hold. "It's so late. We need to head back."

Elesis immediately leaps out of the tree. "Is your Maman going to be okay?" She asks, holding out a hand to help Rose down. "Oh gosh, is there enough firewood?"

"There should be enough for the next week, but Maman," Rose frets. "Oh god. Elesis, we need to go, fast!"

They run like the wind, back to the wooden cabin that Rose calls home. A few times she trips over her own feet, stumbles in the snow, but then Elesis grabs her hand and they keep running, because _oh god what if something happened to Maman?_

There's a scent of roasting pheasant that lingers around the house when they finally arrive, after what feels like eighty million years of running through the forest. There's a hole in the snow box where the other pheasant was buried. The top of the pile of firewood is gone. Maman must have gotten tired of waiting.

"Maman," Rose yells as the throws open the door. "Maman, nous sommes retournées!"

"Bien," Maman calls from the kitchen, and both Rose and Elesis sigh in relief. "Did you bring back anything?"

"We snared some grouses, Maman," Rose says, leaving her rucksack at the door. She'll have to put them in the snow box later. "No bunnies today."

Elesis doesn't head indoors like the day before, but follows Rose back into the cold. "What is this weird thing?" She asks, poking at the snow box. "Is it an icebox?"

"Kinda." Rose dumps the sack of bloody snow and headless grouses into the snow box. "In the city, you keep things cold with ice from the ice house, right? This works the same way, except it's snow. Because we seem to get more of that than anything else. We pack it in and put stuff inside and lock it so animals don't get at it."

"Oh."

They pull bloody snow out and pack in fresh snow from around the house, because snowfall seems to be more abundant than the endless game prowling the woods. As soon as the last grouse is buried, they let the lid fall, crashing on its iron hinges.

"This fancy latch prevents most animals from getting at the birds," Rose explains, opening it again with both hands. "Although there was one time when a bear picked the whole thing up and threw it…"

She laughs at Elesis' perfect o of surprise. "Papa made foundations for the box and buried them after that incident," she muses. "Although sometimes I still have to hammer them back in."

Maman is smiling sternly when they go back into the house. "Anna, what have I told you about staying out late?" She chides, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. "I know you're happy that we finally have a guest, but please remember that you need to eat."

Red rises into Rose's face, as does her growing guilt. Through the dinner, she doesn't have the strength to look at Maman or Elesis.

After dinner, Elesis and Maman stand together washing the dishes, and Rose quietly slips out with fresh bandages and ointment from the medicine cupboard, and a little cup of Edna's last delivery of spirits. It's been a day since she last checked on the horse's wound, after all.

It takes a lot of shushing and gentle humming for the horse to calm down. Maybe he still remembers that Rose was the one who injured him in the first place. "Don't worry," she says softly, wiping the now closing wound with a little of the homemade ointment. "You'll be all patched up and ready to go in no time."

The horse whinnies in response. Rose doesn't speak horse.

She rewraps the bandage around the horse's abdomen gently, not pulling it as tightly as the day before, so the wound can have room to breathe. "I'll put another bandage on you tomorrow night, big boy," she says, patting his mane before heading back into the house.

It's actually quite late already. Maman has packed away the dishes, put the leftover bits of pheasant in a container, and is settling down to sleep. "Close the door, Anna," she chides as Rose comes indoors. "You're going to let the night blow our fire out."

"Sorry, Maman," she says quickly, putting her boots next to Elesis' by the fire. "I'll come back in earlier next time."

Maman smiles softly, closing her eyes as she lays down to sleep. "Bien. Bonne nuit, Anna."

"Bonne nuit, Maman," she replies.

The fire crackles and burns, and Maman snores softly, and Rose sits in silence at her side, greasing her boots. There's a sound of dripping water from somewhere in the house, probably Elesis washing up.

Rose digs into the jar of bear grease and scoops a little bit out, pressing it into her boot and working it into the soft leather. Without constant greasing, the boots will no longer be waterproof, and Rose will have to ask Edna to buy new ones.

The door of the bathroom creaks suddenly, and Rose nearly drops her boot in the fire.

"Hey- Oh." Elesis' greeting is promptly cut short as she sees Maman asleep and Rose blowing ashes off her boot. "Sorry if I startled you."

"Don't worry about it," Rose says. "I'm just… not really used to having so many people in the house."

Elesis smiles softly as she sits down next to Rose by the fire and grabs her own boots. There's still beads of water that garnish her face, and the loose hair by her face is wet. "I kinda know what you mean," she says quietly. "My mother passed on when my brother and I were young, so it was just Father and Els and I at home."

"Your brother," Rose suddenly says, "is he alright?"

"I think he should be," Elesis sighs. "I haven't heard anything from any of them since I left the city. He probably has to work at the forge more often, now that I'm gone. He has school to attend and i've basically ruined that for him."

They grease their boots in silence and watch the fire crackle and Maman's chest rising and falling under the covers. Rose finishes wiping away the last of the excess bear grease and gets up to put her boots away, when Elesis suddenly speaks. "Thank you for letting me stay here," she says. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't walked through the area."

"Thank you for not murdering me after I shot your horse," Rose mumbles back. "Usually the bears tend to attack me after I shoot them."

It's a terrible joke, but Elesis laughs nonetheless. "Hey, you're not a bear and neither am I," she offers. "So there really wouldn't have been a point to attacking you."

Rose inhales through her mouth as she smiles, and catches the scent of Elesis in her raw form - glowing steel in the forge, scattered bits of gunpowder and _fire_ , she is nothing short of pure _fire_ and Rose sees that her fire is brighter than that in the hearth.

Suddenly, she understands why the Firebird chose to bless this girl, because it saw _this_.

Elesis looks so happy as she sits at the fire's side, like she's right at home. Rose realizes that yes, she is, that the forge she called home so long ago is the only place she felt at home, that at the fire's edge she can _thrive_.

Rose wonders if one of her ancestors was a Firebird, even the Firebird she's searching for now.

Humming to herself, she sits down on the outmost mattress when she feels a warm hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you can go sleep closer to the fire," Elesis tells her. "It's warmer there."

"But I'm supposed to be a host," she argues, even as strong arms wrap around her waist and hoist her, blankets, baggy nightgown and all, into the berth between the outermost mattress and Maman's. "Elesis, how am I supposed to explain this to Maman?"

Her guest smirks. "I'll be honest, I like sleeping in colder areas better," she admits. "I guess I'm always all fired up inside, so I get pins and needles when I try to sleep somewhere too warm."

"So you got up in the middle of the night," Rose says incredulously, "decided it was too warm, and just picked me up and plopped me where you had been?"

"To be fair, I kinda rolled you up in your blanket," Elesis chuckles," and I just kinda rolled you down to the next bedspread."

Her smile grows sad. "My point is, you don't have to sacrifice your happiness to give it to someone else. Happiness should be shared."

Rose ogles at her. Elesis blinks blankly.

"That… was really cheesy, wasn't it."

"It was," Rose says, face stony. "But you tried your best, and you got your point across."

She holds the stern expression for about five seconds before her smile erupts and suddenly the two of them are laughing, and it's the middle of the night in the cruel Siberian winter but Rose is happy, beyond happy, and room is a little warmer, and then Maman stirs in her sleep and they are silent.

"We shouldn't wake Maman up," she whispers as Elesis nods in response. "Good night, Elesis."

"G'night, Rose," Elesis replies, slipping into her duvet covers.

Rose lies awake thinking for a long time afterwards. The fire crackles and Maman snores softly, but all she can focus on is matching the pacing of her breathing to that of Elesis.

Eventually, it is this pace that lulls her back into sleep.

* * *

Rose wakes up to storm clouds and the smell of ashes.

Light is coming down into the kitchen through the one window Papa installed before he left. Little snowflakes dance in the morning light, an indication that there will only be more snow to come. Tiny white ash butterflies float lazily out of the fireplace, waltzing through the air like their snowy cousins outside.

Rose knows she has to get up and start her day, to put fire in the stove and boil water and toast the bread, but she can't. Between the warmth of the fire and the blankets pressing down on her, she feels like she could sleep another thousand years.

But she opens her eyes anyways, and realizes that Elesis has draped one arm gracefully over her chest. She rolls to the other side, and bumps right into Maman.

Great. Now she can't even move.

Instead, she rolls back towards Elesis, pushing her arm away. "Elesis," she cooes, hoping Maman won't wake up, "I need to get up and make breakfast."

"Food," Elesis says sleepily.

"That's right. So why don't you turn to the other side, and I'll get up and toast us some bread?"

Instantly, Elesis's eyes snap open. "Let's go," she breathes, eyes sparkling "I'm all up for toast."

The day is still in its nether hours, and yet Rose is already shaking with laughter. _Of course_ Elesis is motivated by food.

They make breakfast together, Elesis slicing bread and Rose putting on a kettle of tea. They spread the butter Maman made the day before on the bread, as the Darjeeling on the stove fills the air. The kitchen radiates with light and life.

Before Maman wakes up, they slip out of the house, wrapped in loose scarves. Rose barely remembers to bring the spirits and bandages and balm on the way out.

Even in the early breath of morning, she can tell the world is blanketed in storm clouds, the air filled with tiny piercing shards. "Elesis, can you grab that coil of rope?" She asks. "We're going to need some way to get back to the house if it starts storming before we get back."

Elesis looks up, squinting at the sky. "Yeah, that looks like an ugly storm coming in."

They tie one end of the rope to the metal loop that Papa drove into the wall by the door, and they stretch the rope all the way to the identical loop in the barn wall. There's been a few incidents where Rose and her sisters have been stuck in the barn while snow and wind whipped at the door outside. With the rope, at least they have a way to guide themselves back to the house.

"Well, you don't need bandages anymore, young man!" Elesis says cheerfully, unwinding the strips of cloth from her horse's middle. "Let me put some balm on your scar and then _voila!_ "

Rose feels a pang of loneliness already; the horse being alright means Elesis is going to go soon. The whole encounter with this strange girl from the big city has been too dreamlike. Rose half expects herself to wake up anytime soon, and for Elesis to have been a figment of her imagination all along.

But then Elesis lays a hand on her shoulder, and she freezes again.

"Hey, can I feed the animals?" Elesis grins. "I swear I won't throw a hay bale at the wall this time."

Rose's going to miss the childish playfulness in her eyes, too. "Sure," she says. "I'll tell you their names too."

There are three cows in the barn and four sheep, each with its own little enclosure. As Elesis brings armfuls of hay to their respective feed boxes, Rose tells her in turn each of the names that Papa gave them.

"The sheep are named after Maman's grandparents," she explains. "I can't tell any of them apart, but two of them are named Helena and Claude and the other two are named Maxime and Alexandra."

"..." Elesis stares at the sheep for a long time, watching them bump into each other and bleat. "You should put nametags on them or something."

Rose laughs. "That would be messy when it comes time to shear them," she says.

Elesis sticks her tongue out at her, digging her fingers into a sheep's wool. "This one… Feels like a Claude," she decides. "That one looks like an Alexandra to me."

Rolling her eyes, Rose moves on, bringing hay to the cows. "The cows are named after Papa's favourite people," she explains. "This is Hebe. She's named after Maman."

"Your mother is named after the goddess of youth?" Elesis comments. "Wow. She really is timeless, isn't she."

Rose smiles, a little red tint rising to her cheeks. "I suppose she is. This is Sasha," she continues, moving to the next cow. "Grandpère's name was Sasha. We named this cow after him because Maman says Sasha is a name anyone can use."

"I agree with that one," Elesis says. "I've met a lot of Sashas of every kind."

They give Sasha an armful of hay as well. "And this is my favourite of the cows," Rose says, turning to the last stall. "Her name is Roseanne."

Elesis stares at her incredulously. "Wait, wait, wait," she says, "I call you Rose, and your mother calls you Anna. Is this…"

"Nope," Rose chuckles. She knew this would cause Elesis to freak out. "My name is Roseanne as well, but this cow and I were both named for my grandmère."

"Oh."

"I never knew her," she says softly. "Grandmère passed on before I was born. Both Papa and Maman were devastated. The cow was already named after her, but… Maman was going to name me Anna anyways, so my full name is Roseanne."

Elesis nods in understanding, rubbing the cow's ears softly. "Where'd you get the nickname Rose from?" She asks, voice airy. "From your sisters?"

"Yeah."

The barn descends into stale silence, but even as they work, Rose can see the ghost of a smile on Elesis's face. The two big milk pans are filled quickly, and Rose grabs one as Elesis grabs the other to head back out.

Thankfully, the storm hasn't kicked up yet. Rose needs to check her snares, and a storm would effectively put a stop to that. "Girls, if you're going to go out today, be back before lunch," Maman says as they come indoors. "There's going to be a lot of snow later today."

"Of course, Maman," Rose says.

Since they're going to be home soon anyways, Rose doesn't bother packing lunches for either of them. She checks Papa's musket for rust, makes sure there are still cartridges left in her pocket, grabs the sack for her findings, and turns to Elesis. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

They make the same round as the day before, and Rose is pleasantly surprised to find that Elesis remembers some of the places they've passed by. Tiny white snowflakes drift down around them as they step into shin-height snow, still accumulating from the bittersweet winter. Elesis tells joke after joke, and Rose laughs, laughs.

And then her eyes fall on the struggling mass of white writhing in one of her snares, and tears immediately rise to her eyes.

"Elesis," she gasps, stopping entirely, "there's a bunny. Oh god, there's a bunny."

She stumbles through the snow, crashing to the ground by the snare and tossing her mitts aside. The white little rabbit screeches when she comes near it, ears laid back flat and eyes wide open. "Shhh, don't worry," she whispers softly, lowering herself down so it doesn't feel intimidated. "I'm just trying to help."

"Uh, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

There's a strange noise like metal scraping on metal behind her, but Rose doesn't take her eyes off the rabbit. "Keep the bunny distracted," Elesis murmurs. "And don't look now, but there's a wolf here for the bunny."

Rose's breath catches in her throat. Behind her, there's a low growl. "Keep your breathing even, Rose," Elesis whispers. "They can smell fear. And that bunny is probably looking like a really good meal to this guy right now."

Quickly, she turns back to the still-shaking bunny in front of her, steeling herself for more screaming as she undoes the snare. Instead, the bunny just whimpers, shaken.

Behind her, there's a crunch as the wolf steps through the snow. "BACK OFF!" Elesis screams, unrelenting. Another crunch, farther away. "THAT'S RIGHT! STAY AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE, YA BIG BULLY!"

Between the screaming and the whimpers, Rose's hands are shaking, but she undoes the knot in the snare around the rabbit's leg nonetheless. As soon as it's free, she picks it up, undoing the first button in her coat, and virtually crams it down the front of her coat. Snow goes down her undershirt, piercing her chest, but the rabbit is safe, and it seems to relax a little as she cradles it. "Elesis," she gasps, "bunny is free."

"Good," says Elesis, still aggressively loud. "And I think our friend here is ready to leave too, _hmm_?"

Rose turns around in time to see the wolf running off, tail between its legs, and Elesis standing fearlessly in the snow, her sword drawn and sparkling in the sunlight. "Good riddance," she says simply, putting the sword back into its sheath. "Rose, are you alright?"

She nods. "I'm fine," she says. "Just a little shaken."

"Let's head back and treat the bunny's injuries," Elesis suggests, reaching her hand out to pull Rose up. "Shouldn't be too serious - hey, Rose, it's going to be alright, I swear!"

Tears are flowing freely down Rose's face, freezing as they drop to the ground like little snow crystals. "I'm so sorry," she manages, "first I put you and your horse in a dangerous situation, and now I've nearly gotten us and this bunny mauled by a wolf."

"Hey." Elesis squats beside her, reaching into her coat to hoist the bunny out. "It's gonna be alright. We protected this little guy from the wolf, and neither of us are hurt. Let's go home, Rose."

She breathes out and allows Elesis to help her to her feet. "Alright. But I get to hold the bunny."

Elesis grins. "There's the Rose I know."

The bunny takes an instant liking to Maman, who gives Rose a scolding for having gotten the poor thing trapped, but commends her for her quick acting, and thoroughly thanks Elesis for scaring off the wolf. Rose is mildly surprised to find that Maman knows exactly what to do with the bunny, and is sent to the barn to procure some hay for it. By the time she returns to the house, Maman has already named the bunny Nika, and is giving it belly rubs.

"You love that bunny more than you love me, don't you," Rose complains.

"Nonsense, I love all my children equally," Maman snarks in reply.

Nika turns over in her lap and sticks its tongue out at Rose.

Elesis just chuckles.

There's five loaves of bread and no space left inside the oven, so Maman made stew with two of the grouses they brought in the day before on the stove. They eat the last of the bread she made two days ago with the stew, and feed little bits of the crust to Nika, whose foot is a little swollen but is otherwise okay.

After lunch, Rose and Elesis wash the dishes in silence, listening to Maman coo at her new plaything. "Do you want to go see the barn loft after we finish rinsing?" Rose suggests. "It'll be kind of cold, but I have chocolate from Elder stashed up there."

"Hell yeah," Elesis says, grinning. "Chocolate always sounds good."

They put all the dishes back into their places on the rack, and they dry off the silverware and put it into its basket, and they put the large stew pot up in its cabinet. Rose puts Papa's musket back up on its hooks, and they bundle up again to brace the cold.

"Maman, Elesis and I are going to the barn loft!" She yells, greeted with only a faint "bien" and more cooing. "Okay, so Maman probably doesn't care at this point. Let's go."

She opens the door and is greeted by wind and icy shards of snow and a full blast of pure winter. "Yikes," Elesis mutters. "Is it safe go outside?"

"I've walked through worse," Rose says, shrugging. "Though we can stay indoors if you want."

"No!" Elesis yelps. "Indoors means no chocolate. And I really want to see your loft, too."

Rose smiles even though the snow batters at her face and leaves it sore and icy. She holds on tightly to the rope, lets Elesis out to hold on as well, and shuts the door tightly. "Let's hope it doesn't get cold inside," she murmurs.

The barn is considerably warmer than the barren cold outdoors. It's quite close to the temperature of the house, with its seven permanent residents and three visitors.

"You see that crack in the wall, there?" Rose says, pointing. "That's from the time Cora tried to bounce herself off the wall and into the loft."

"But did it work?"

"Nope," she grins. "Poor girl basically hip-checked the wall and crashed into a sheep on impact."

She takes off her mittens. "This is how you get up to the loft," she says, sticking them between her teeth before grabbing onto a brace on the wall and hauling herself onto a hay bale.

There are steps up to the loft, of course, but with the sisters' intervention they've become rather hard to find. From the top of the stack of hay bales, Rose grabs onto a plank crossing the wall, swinging across to land on a ledge, switching hands to grab onto a rope dangling from the ceiling, and using it to swing into the open loft. "Tadah."

Rose is a little concerned that Elesis will miss the ledge, the rope, the edge of the loft, but she makes it across with the same athletic grace she carried when climbing the tree the day before. "Wow, it sure is cozy up here," she comments, eyes lighting up as she steps through stacks of books to plop herself down in a pile of hay. "Do you come up here often?"

"Not as much as I'd like to," Rose admits. "Between managing the snares and helping Maman with things around the house and dealing with the livestock, I haven't had much time recently to visit."

"Visit?" Elesis echoes. "Why visit?"

Rose stares at the wooden planking, worn by years of the growing feet of four little girls with big imaginations and vastly different personalities. "We used to come here often as kids, my sisters and I," she admits. "But then Papa disappeared, and Kyra left, and then Edna got married to Alex, and Cora went to study in Elder, and then it was just me."

"This was where you and your sisters hid all your secrets, wasn't it," Elesis realizes. "Where you could console each other."

"Yeah. I can't count how many times I cried up here," Rose laughs, tears rising to her eyes at the sheer thought. "Kyra left in the middle of the night, and Edna didn't realize until she woke up in the morning. I ran here right afterwards. She left us a letter."

"Has there been any sign of her?"

"After Alex started courting Edna, there were reports of a girl like Kyra leaving Elder," she says, "but aside from that, no."

She clenches her fist in the hay. "Her leaving just made Papa's disappearance so much more painful," she admits. "Maman was the most devastated, but the rest of us agreed to be strong for her sake. Edna took up Papa's runs to the city for supplies, Cora did most of the housework, and I just left myself to the snaring and hunting. Edna and Alex still come around once a month, but I haven't seen Cora in such a long time…"

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Elesis says, leaning forwards to put her hands on Rose's shoulders. "Here, I found a chocolate."

She pries open Rose's shaking fingers, dusts away the hay and drops a little chocolate candy in her palm. "Sugar will keep you warm in the winter," Elesis says solemnly. "That's what my brother always said. I'm pretty sure he was using it as an excuse to eat extra candy, though."

Rose blinks at the chocolate. "Where'd you find this?"

"In a box." Elesis pulls a little red tin out of the pile of hay. "Did you stash this there?"

"I probably did, now that I think about it." Rose pops the chocolate in her mouth and lets it melt slowly on her tongue, savouring the bittersweet creamy texture. "Sorry about getting all emotional on you there. I just-"

"- haven't had someone to talk to in a long time?" Elesis finishes. "Yeah. Me neither. Blacksmithing is fun, but less so when you're only doing it for a roof over your head and some food to keep you alive and all your neighbours think you're a weirdo."

They laugh, and it's so loud that Rose realizes they're drowning out the storm outside. "Hold on a second," she says, getting up to open a small wooden flap in the barn wall.

As soon as she undoes the latch, the flap flies open, snow and cold wind forcing its ugly head into the warm barn. "Okay, not cool," she mutters, pressing onto the wooden panel with her whole body. "Definitely not cool."

She hears footsteps, and before she knows it Elesis is pushing down the flap with her, using her ungodly strength from blacksmithing. "Thank you," she sighs, putting the latch back in its place. "For helping me. That was a mess. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry," Elesis assures her. "I'm morally obligated to help."

The laughter, the stupid mistakes, even Elesis making stupid new ways of eating the chocolates, it all reminds her too clearly of that longing from the day before, an afternoon spent in a snowy tree instead of a warm barn. Rose never wanted to leave the barn, and she doesn't want to leave the barn now.

She sighs as Elesis tells her enthusiastically of her newest plans for when she goes off in search of the Firebird. She's gotten so used to having someone so brilliantly new around that she doesn't know what she'll do when Elesis leaves.

"And then if no one in the Xin empire can direct me to the Firebird, we'll head back up north to Abaddon territory," Elesis says excitedly. "Maybe we can get you a sword there, Rose. They make really nice swords in Abaddon."

"If you can find your way back to our lonely little house in the woods, that is," Rose hums, laying back into the haypile.

Silence fills the barn. Rose wonders if she's said something wrong. Then there's shuffling, and a pair of hands grabs her own.

"Come with me, Rose," Elesis says quietly, almost pleading. "Let's go look for the Firebird together."

Rose's mouth dangles open, and she expects to wake up any moment now, but she doesn't. This is the dream she never thought would come true, the fantasy she never bothered entertaining on the grounds that it was just so _impossible_.

But it's happening before her very eyes, and as Rose prepares herself to give in to the alluring vow, she realizes the fatal flaw that holds her back instantly.

"I can't leave Maman."

Elesis's face falls immediately. The idea of bringing Maman along on such an ambitious adventure would be preposterous - Maman is getting on in age, after all, and needs rest. And yet going without her would be just as unthinkable. "I… you're right. I'm sorry," she says, letting go of Rose's hands. "I just… got excited at the idea of traveling with you, I guess."

They laze around in the loft for only a little while longer before they each grab the rope in turn and jump down into the haystack, landing safely on the ground. Elesis runs her hands through her horse's mane and tells him they'll be on the road again soon, and Rose feels her guilt threatening to rip her heart out of her chest.

The storm has died down for the most part, but there's still wind whipping at Rose's face as she follows the rope back to the house, each step through the knee-height snow more and more painful.

Maman is still playing with Nika when they step in through the front door, unable to meet each other's gaze as they track in snow and more snow. "Anna, can you get me three of the grouses?" She says, smiling warmly with the bunny in her arms. "And clear out some of the bloody snow, too."

She nods and turns back out, Elesis right beside her. "You don't have to do this," she says. "I'm supposed to be a host."

"And I can't just take advantage of your kindness," Elesis counters. "Let me help you with this."

They scoop the grouses out of the snow box and pack in fresh new snow, still aggressively focusing on the task at hand and not daring to look at each other. When they come indoors, Maman takes the grouses right away, leaving them to awkwardly shed their winter coats on the doormat.

While Elesis goes to play with Nika, Rose stands next to Maman in the kitchen, helping her pull the frozen feathers off the grouse. A question comes to mind, but she doesn't dare ask it.

"You can go if you want," Maman finally says. "I don't mind."

Rose drops the grouse out of sheer surprise. "Maman," she says, breathless, "how did you know I was going to ask you about that?"

"I'm your mother, Anna," Maman chuckles. "I can tell when there's something important pressing on your mind."

"But then-"

"There's still enough game in the snow box to last me a good while," Maman continues. "And more than enough flour, too. Besides, I saw this coming from a mile away. Why do you think I baked so much bread this morning? You girls aren't leaving this house with at least a loaf or two."

Elesis now comes into the kitchen as well, looking just as flabbergasted as Rose is. "If all else fails, I'll just hitch a ride with Edna and her Alexei to live with them in Elder while you're gone," Maman says. "I'm still strong enough to get around and manage the livestock. And I won't be lonely, I've got Nika."

To prove her point, she scoops the bunny out of Elesis's arms. "You really needn't worry for me," she says, smiling.

"Then I'll leave you my horse," Elesis suddenly pipes. "Just in case you need to get to the big city quickly. He's fast, and he wouldn't hurt a soul. Rose and I will cover ground faster on foot together in the woods."

They both turn to Rose, whose jaw is still hanging loose. "Well?" Maman prompts, smirking. "Do you think you're ready to go adventuring?"

Rose bursts into tears and wraps her arms around Maman, holding her tightly. "Thank you so much, Maman," she sobs. "Je t'aime."

"Et moi aussi, je t'aimerais toujours," Maman says. "Sois douce, tu tuerais le lapin."

Even between the tears, Rose can't help but laugh at that.

* * *

The early morning is bleak when Rose shoulders her bag and her musket, her pockets full of musket cartridges and her heart full of hope.

Elesis is already finished saying goodbye to her horse, and the sheep, and the cows, and the barn loft, and now the only things left to say goodbye to are Maman and the little house. "Thank you, Mrs. Testarossa," she says, enveloping Maman in a warm hug, "for letting me drag your daughter into what could be a really dangerous and stupid adventure. And for feeding me the best food in existence. And also for giving me so much of your fantastic bread."

"Nonsense, you need to be fed well," Maman chides, patting her on the back before releasing her and turning to Rose. "And you, ma petite. The last of your sisters to go off into the world."

"What about Nika?" Rose teases. "Ah, but Nika already came from the wild…"

Maman laughs and presses a kiss to Rose's forehead, pulling her hat down to cover it up afterwards. "Take good care of each other, and remember to bring me back some souvenirs," she says. "It's getting chilly, so I'm going to go back indoors now. Goodbye, girls!"

"Goodbye, Maman," Rose cries, waving, and then the door closes softly and the morning air is still.

Elesis is smiling brightly beside her, probably still in disbelief over how things turned out. "Well, are you ready to go?"

Rose exhales, watches her breath light up in the sunrise, finds herself smiling at the brand new world. "Ready as I'll ever be."

She steps into the morning fog and doesn't look back.

* * *

 **A/N: today i feel like a mess and everything i've done has been full of regret and i have five days left to write about 30k words of fic and a monologue in iambic pentameter and an English presentation but at least my writing schedule's on track... mostly**

 **on the other hand this was a fun chapter to write and i didn't think i could pull off 10k words of two idiots talking to sheep but i did**

 **and some french translations bc i'm canadian and need to practice ze french**

 _ **je suis retournee/nous sommes retournees = i have returned/we have returned**_

 _ **nous partons = we're leaving**_

 _ **je t'aime = i love you**_

 _ **et moi aussi, je t'aimerais toujours = and me also, i will love you forever**_

 _ **sois douce, tu tuerais le lapin = be careful, you're going to kill the rabbit**_

 **if anyone who is sufficiently fluent in french knows a better translation hmu**

 **~Marg**


	3. Musings

III.

The day fades into night, and the snow crumbles beneath their tired feet, until Rose sees a wisp of smoke in the distance, illuminated by what must be the light of a (warm!) fire.

"Elesis, there's a light," she almost sobs, stopping to point towards the light. "Maybe it's a house. Maybe we'll get to sleep in real beds again!"

Her red haired companion is just as tired, but has perhaps twice the energy and twice the motivation. "Just a little further, Rose," she mutters, stopping to lean against a tree and breathe. "Just a little further. We're gonna find other people."

A week of sleeping in trees at night, taking shifts to make sure they aren't assaulted by wolves, has left both Elesis and Rose exhausted and ready to tip over, dead. Maman's bread has run out, but Rose has managed to trap a few grouses and once shot one from nearly twenty metres away. They won't starve, but it's not enough to give them the energy to keep going.

"Just a little further," Rose repeats, her voice beginning to grow a little stronger. "Yeah. We can make it."

She shoulders her bag and her musket and holds onto Elesis's arm, the two of them adapting their paces to hobble together through the snow. Left foot, right foot. It's simple, and yet they still need to lean on each other for the simplest things.

They're still getting used to travelling together like this. Rose has never gone farther away from home than her traps, and Elesis, despite having been cast out, is not the fondest of taking such long voyages either.

Little steps, in the metaphorical and physical senses, is all they can take right now, as they continue to shuffle through the snow, fully aware that their knees could give in any time now, their boots could just snap in the bitter cold and disintegrate along with all their strength. Their breaths billow into the night air, disappearing like puffs of wind.

The light does, in fact, come from a little house, a tiny wood cabin. Rose sobs out in relief, and Elesis sighs as they crash into the wall.

Warmth. Light. The scent of warm bread and fire, beautiful, familiar, lonely fire. It comes all at once, scents they didn't expect to pick up ever again.

And the sound! Someone is singing inside, a lovely tenor voice with the smoothness of a Stradivarius and the sweetness of an angel. Rose reluctantly knocks on the door, wincing when the singing stops abruptly. "Hello," she calls out, voice weakened by exhaustion, "we come in peace."

"Who's out there?" Says the person inside. "What is your purpose?"

"We're travelers," Elesis manages. "Two young women. We're looking for a place to sleep for the night and rest our weary feet."

There's a pause, and then a click before the door swings open to reveal a young man in a white cloak. "Come on in," he says, smile as warm as the house he occupies. "I should be ashamed of myself for not letting you in earlier."

He lets them drop their bags and their weapons by the door, puts a few more logs in the fire and ladles stew into two bowls for them. "My name is Ainchase," he says, "of the convent of Mother Ishmael, though it may be easier for you to call me Ain."

He is a wandering priest, a minstrel, an orphan with no real direction to go or home to return to. Elesis guesses his nationality correctly from his accent - he comes from a German convent, and the only mother he's ever known is Mother Ishmael, the matron of his former home.

"Were you cast out?" Elesis asks, glancing at Rose.

"No, not really," Ain says, an intuitive smile rising to his face. "I should think that I left by myself. I loved music from a young age, and Mother said it would be a shame for me to not nurture my talents."

Rose vaguely recalls having said something similar as Cora cried, cried for her sake and for Maman's. She looks at Ain and sees her sister, sees the smile lined with tears and stress.

"And you," Ain continues, looking pointedly at the both of them. "I've heard stories about the two of you."

"Really? How?" Rose asks.

"The birds told me about this one," he says, pointing to her from across the tiny table. "They said, the girl who waits for the deer is coming. They said, she has the plaits of a Frenchwoman but the heart of a majestic wolf."

Rose blushes a deep red, dropping her gaze into the stew.

(It's not quite as good as Maman's stew, but Rose isn't about to be picky.)

"And you," Ain says, now turning to Elesis. "You are Elesis Sieghart, yes? I have news from your brother."

Elesis' eyes immediately light up. "My brother?" She gasps, slamming her hands on the table. Her spoon clatters in her now empty bowl. "How is he? What about Father? And the forge?"

Ain's enigmatic smile is just as infuriating as it is calming. "I composed a song for this," he says, reaching into a cupboard and pulling out a banjo of some sort. "In case I ever ran into you. Your brother helped with the words."

He strums a chord and clears his throat. Suddenly both of the girls are attentive.

"Elesis, your family lives on, they are fine

For your banishment may be lifted in time

Your father, he works in his forge all day

To sweep his tears for you away

Your brother, he helps out in rain and shine

Though he can't go to school, he still shines

And even through turmoil, in the strife

In a few months maybe you'll meet his wife

They live on for you, so that you can come home

In their hearts, Elesis, you will always be known"

He stops singing and scratches his head. "Your brother has yet to be married, I believe," he says. "The last time I passed through Elder was two months ago, and the wedding is scheduled for spring. I also didn't know what to write for the last line. I apologize if it sounded out of place."

"Can I make a comment?" Rose pipes up.

"Go ahead."

"Your singing is absolutely beautiful," she says, "and the words are… well composed, for the most part, but why did you make the whole thing so gloomy and slow and sad?"

"Because it felt right at the time." Ain blinks. "Also because I forgot the original tune I set it to and I made a new one up on the spot."

"Either way, it was beautiful and greatly informing," Elesis beams. "Thank you, Ain."

He bows his head with a flourish of his hands, prompting a laugh from his guests. "And where to now?" He asks, laying the banjo across his lap as Rose downs the last of her stew.

"We're thinking the Xin empire," Elesis says. "And then to Abaddon territory, if the folks in Xin can't show us any way to seek out our goal."

"Ah." Ain leans forwards on the table. "You seek out the Firebird, do you? Then I believe the great Xin would be a good place to go."

He laughs at their twin expressions of surprise, clearly having caught them off guard. "You two adventurers are the kind of people we were told were crazy, back in the convent," he teases. "Sister Anduran would have loved you two, though."

His eyes darken. "The stronghold of the Xin empire is not far out from here," he says. "Maybe a two day walk, tops. However, there is turmoil in the area - is there is everywhere else. Elder is struggling to keep its own citizens from rising in fury. The Xin is fighting itself to prevent going to war with Abaddon."

"What's going on with Xin and Abaddon?" Elesis asks, not daring to think of Ain's blatant report of uprising in Elder. "Is it safe to travel there?"

"It should be safe," Ain hums, "but there are people you need to watch out for. They could be dangerous."

He strums the banjo softly.

"An upright earl whose word is sold

A visor of talents will soon grow bold

A beautiful princess within his hold

An unusual man who knows tenfold

A tyrannical queen with a heart of gold

A silent butler of a tale untold

And a majestic avian from lore of old"

They ponder on the lyrics for some time in silence. "The avian of lore of old, that has to be the Firebird," Elesis comments, frowning. "And the tyrannical queen has to be the Queen of Abaddon, though I'm not seeing how she has a heart of gold."

"That leaves the earl as the ruler of Xin, and the princess in his hold… his wife maybe?" Rose adds. "And the butler I would assume would be either hers or that of the Abaddon queen, probably the queen's."

"The unusual man is hazy, though," Elesis says. "And the visor doesn't sound too loveable either."

Ain smiles. "Well done," he says. "I see the two of you work well together."

He's always smiling. It's a little unsettling, how warm and welcoming he is.

"It's getting late," he comments. "I only have one bed here-"

"We'll sleep by the fireplace," Rose and Elesis tell him in unison, and the three of them laugh.

"Seriously. We've been sleeping in trees this past week," Elesis explains. "At this point, you could give me a chair and I would probably fall asleep on it."

"You _are_ in a chair," Rose points out. "Are you sleepy right now?"

"Hell yeah," Elesis chortles. "Watch me pass out cold right this instant."

To prove her point, she flops over the the table, making loud honking noises that Rose assumes is her "snoring". Ain laughs, and Rose turns red all over because _Elesis is terrible at this_ , _her snoring is so fake_. "Alright, sleepyhead, let's go wash up now."

Except the weird noises fade into soft breathing, and Ain stifles a giggle as they realize Elesis has, in fact, passed out cold. Rose sighs and brushes a lock of flaming hair out of Elesis' face. "She must really be exhausted."

"The two of you are close, yes?" Ain asks quietly. "It shows in the way you joke to one another, in how your tone changes. Have you been lonely without her?"

"Yeah," Rose admits. "She's the only friend I've had in a long time. I left my mother and the home I've known for my entire life to come travelling with her. I miss Maman, but… I think I'd wilt into nothing if I hadn't come with Elesis."

"That is true," Ain says. "I missed the convent terribly when I first headed out, but both Mother Ishmael and I knew that if I hadn't left while I could, I would have regretted it for a lifetime. That's what told me I had to leave."

"Would you have become a monk if you'd stayed?" Rose asks.

Ain nods. "Most likely so. I think I would have grown to forget music if I had. I mean, with all due respect I should be a priest right now, but God's gift to me was music, and I see it as my job to spread that gift."

Just like Rose, he's fought his own demons to leave home. She sees that, and understands. "I'm sure He is proud of you," she assures him. "And I'm sure Mother Ishmael is too."

"Thank you, Rose," he says. "God bless you."

"From here, do we continue going south?" Rose asks. "We've been heading due south this whole time in search of the Xin empire, because Elesis said it was to the south."

"South and a little bit west," Ain corrects. "Well, not enough to make a significant impact, really. You can make it to the stronghold of Xin if you head west from here for one day, and then south for another. I suggest you come bearing something to sell, if you don't want the city guards to throw you out immediately. The city is a large centre of trade, and there are many things to be bought and sold."

He winks. "But keep a hand on your bag at all times," he suggests. "There have been thieves in and around the area."

"That's very helpful to know," Rose says, bowing her head. "Thank you, Ain, for your generous hospitality and directions. I appreciate it a lot, and if Elesis were awake, I'm sure she'd say the same."

"I must thank you two as well," Ain replies. "You are the first people I've spoken to in a long time… Which is why I was so startled when you knocked on the door."

They laugh softly, and Rose strokes Elesis' hair gently as so to not wake her up. "I'll be going to sleep now," Ain says. "But if you're still hungry, there's still stew left in the large pot, and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to eat all of it."

"Thanks," Rose tells him. "Have a good night's sleep."

"You too." Ain pauses for a moment. "God bless the both of you. May you both find your happiness soon."

He retreats into his bedroom (really no more than a little alcove) as Rose gets up from the table. She can hear him praying softly, so she does her best to stay as silent as possible while she moves Elesis down from the table, towards the corner by the fireplace where Ain has laid out some bedding for them.

Elesis, despite her height, is not very heavy. Rose supposes it's mostly her muscle mass speaking here. Rose is able to half carry, half drag her over to her berth with minimal effort, and attempts to remove her cloak without waking her up.

That plan goes down the gutter immediately. Elesis's eyes flicker open, the ghost of a smile now adorning her face. "That was a nice nap," she says, amused. "What's new?"

"Were you actually just fake sleeping the whole time?" Rose asks, her nose crinkling in frustration.

"Nah, I actually slept," Elesis replies nonchalantly. "You should be getting to sleep too."

She sits up, undoes each of the intricately carved buttons on her cloak, and shrugs it off, revealing the dark red vest she wears underneath. The winter is cruel, after all, and steals away the breath of those who do not keep warm. "All done," she says, laying the cloak on her legs like a blanket. "Come over here for a moment, Rose."

As Rose leans over, Elesis puts her hands around her ears and pulls her closer to press a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight," she says immediately afterwards, dropping back into her cloak-cocoon. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"Elesis," Rose complains, though she can't hide or deny the impish smile crossing her face. "Alright, so it's gonna be like that. I'll get you back, I swear. Goodnight!"

She sheds her own woolen cloak, lays down beside Elesis, and tries to sleep.

And yet she can't.

Rose is drowning, drowning in a sea of fire, and the only hand she has left to hold is Elesis's hand.

* * *

Ain looks at them from his doorway and laughs softly.

"Help them, Lord," he says. "They could use a hand or two to guide them."

And then he finally closes the door of his tiny room and lays down to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: chem is slowly sucking my soul out of me**

 **to the guest user who reviewed last chapter, Rose is a title bestowed on her by the princess! in her tutorial, it says that Rose is a title reserved for the strongest soldiers, and it's implied that her father also held this title. I'd like to think that Rose's deceased grandmother kind of fulfills the role of the princess in this AU.**

 **i'm currently out of backup chapters and if i want to get this thing done by next tuesday i need to write in double time so i'mma get back to that**

 **~Marg**


	4. Of Their Love

IV.

The capital of Xin is everything Elesis expected and then some.

Even though it's the middle of winter, the city is snowless and cozy and warm, with shops and vendors everywhere around them. Ragged men sit against the walls of buildings, smoking rolls of bitter grasses and giving Elesis and Rose strange looks. Children run barefoot across the stony streets. A woman sings songs in what seems to be a town square, with words that Elesis cannot pretend to understand.

This is the Xin that Elsword always spoke of, the great Xin stronghold in China to the south.

What Elesis didn't realize was that there were so many people who could speak with her. She'd expected to show up and have to haggle with the locals with her thumbs. Instead, she finds most of the citizens of the city are fluently bilingual, able to converse with those from the north and from the south.

"Perhaps it's because we're so close to the Russian border," says one man they run into, a sleazy, stout vendor of a shop selling armor and weapons. "Now, tell me about that sword of yours, little redhead."

"It's not for sale," Elesis says quickly. How'd he even see her sword in the first place? She's been hiding it under her cloak all this time.

The man laughs. "Of course. The ladies must have their weapons to protect themselves with."

Elesis glances at Rose, who nods cautiously. She pulls her sword out of its scabbard and lays it on the counter.

The vendor's plump jaw falls. "Oh my," he whispers, running a finger over the engraving work that Elesis did on the pommel. "That is a beautiful sword, little redhead. What a beautiful sword. Who did you buy this from?"

"No one." Elesis swells up with pride at the sheer thought. "I made it myself. Took me half a year to do it, too."

"A talented one," the vendor hums. "Perhaps I can't buy the sword, but would you consider taking up shop here? I'll gladly act as your sales agent."

His smile is greasy and grimy and _fake_ , and with each passing second Elesis has to suppress her desire to punch him in the face a little more.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Rose cuts in, glaring at the vendor. "We're a little busy as is. We can't afford to stay long in Xin."

Elesis flashes him a grin and grabs her sword, putting it back in its equally intricate scabbard before turning away. "Yeah, what she said."

Inside, she's beaming at Rose in gratitude already.

Once they're a safe distance away from the shop (and its still baffled vendor), Elesis pokes Rose in the shoulder. "Thanks for getting us out of there," she says. "That guy was-"

"- Creepy as fuck," Rose mutters, shivering a little.

Elesis thinks that summarizes her opinion of the ordeal pretty well, too.

They don't have anything to sell, as Ain prescribed, but Rose has been storing a bag of pheasant down from their hunting in the woods, to stuff pillows with, and they've decided it would be the best thing to trade should they need to buy anything. Aside from that, Elesis has some money from her work with the blacksmith, and Rose's Maman has given them a bit to spend as well.

Most of the shops in the stronghold do take rubles, thankfully. Elesis spends only a few buying them lunch - rice with some strange fish neither of them have ever eaten before. It's also the first time Rose has had rice, and it takes her some getting used to, but she agrees that it's delicious.

Elesis also gets to witness Rose with a grain of rice stuck to her lip, and has to fight the temptation to lick it off herself.

After lunch, they wander around the city's three layers, up towards the towering castle, asking around if anyone knows a lorekeeper, shaman, spiritual teacher, anyone who could guide them to the Firebird. No one gives them any ideas, though a jewelry seller does offer them sparkling coral rings to help guide them "into the other world".

Elesis is fully aware that coral is not meant to sparkle, and drags Rose away before she can spend all her money on false jewels.

It's clear to Elesis that Rose has barely even left her own house in her lifetime. Multiple times her companion runs off to look at the wares of a store without any warning, to gush at a well-dressed cat, or to take a sample of some local candy. She's like a curious child, drinking in all the colours and scents of the beautiful markets and the strange people living there.

And oh, how strange the people in Xin are! Elesis sees dancers in layers and layers of golden jewelry that clatters when they move, but for each dancer she sees ten aging men, dusty feet and torn clothes evidence of their years working. A very young looking doctor claims to be in her fifties, though Elesis believes her a little more due to the royal declaration on her wall. Even the children running around are colourfully dressed, in vibrant reds and blues and greens and golds.

They pass a library, and she sees children and adults alike reading inside. They pass a well, and an elderly woman offers them her pail to drink from. They pass by a brothel, and for a moment Elesis catches the gaze of a beautifully dressed courtesan whose mournful eyes remind her all too much of Rose's.

"Do you think maybe everyone is just purposely not telling us anything?" Elesis finally suggests, after they've wandered the afternoon away in the city. "Maybe we should go appeal to the earl. Don't rich, royal people usually know where magical things are?"

"I have no clue," Rose tells her, "but we need to find somewhere to stay for the night. It's getting dark out, and I'm not sure if I trust the people here enough to sleep in an alleyway."

If anything, Rose is reasonable, and unlike Elesis, she isn't incredibly impulsive. Sure, she gets emotional a lot, but she keeps her head level and Elesis respects that.

She also stopped Elesis from impulsively throwing a snowball at a bear, which is a plus.

They find an inn on the second tier of the city, and trade their bag of down to the innkeeper ("I need to stuff my pillows again anyways") for a room with a single bed.

Elesis has stayed in inns before, when Father needed to travel and couldn't leave her and Elsword behind. This is still vastly different, with embroidery lining every fabric surface and paintings of flowers covering the walls. She presses her fingertips against a pillow, pushing just enough to let them sink into the plush surface.

Rose, on the other hand, looks like she's absolutely astounded by _everything_ in this inn. "Elesis, there's a bottle of wine here," she gasps, looking through the cabinet. "Oh my god, everything is so well furnished. You never told me inns could be this nice!"

Elesis finds her childish fascination really endearing. "I didn't know this one would be this ornate," she admits. "Usually inns are pretty plain."

There's only one bed in the room, but Elesis is able to put up a little border of the extra pillows between the two sides for them to sleep in. It makes a pretty solid barrier between them, Elesis figures, for privacy's sake.

Rose makes a little squeaking noise as she sinks into the bed, grabbing onto one of the pillows for support. "This is an unholy amount of softness," she complains into the embroidery. "I'm gonna wake up with a sore back and neck and shoulders. I'm just gonna wake up sore."

"Remind me to give you a massage tomorrow when you wake up, then," Elesis hums, settling into her own side. It _is_ abysmally soft. She feels like she's going to sink through the mattress as she sleeps. Suddenly Rose's fears of back pain aren't too absurd after all.

"Now you see," Rose mutters as Elesis tries to sit up and fails, falling back into the mattress. "How are we supposed to get out of this mess in the morning?"

"Very carefully, I presume," Elesis says, pushing herself up against the headboard and managing to reach the candle on the nightstand. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Wait." There's a shuffle and a shift in the balance of the wave-like bed as Rose climbs over the Great Wall of pillows to grab Elesis's head and plant a kiss on her forehead. "Hah. I told you I'd one up you one of these days."

Elesis grins at her. "Go to sleep, Rose. We've got a lot of traveling ahead of us."

Rose blows a raspberry at her and lies back down to sleep.

Once she's sure her blonde companion is fast asleep, though, Elesis lets out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and sighs. It's a cute game, the whole goodnight kiss thing, but Rose doesn't understand.

What she doesn't understand is that Elesis has been staying awake every night since she met the Testarossas, just to make sure Rose and her Maman aren't too cold at night. What she doesn't understand is that Elesis kisses her on the forehead out of habit, to make sure she's warm and still breathing.

Elesis knows she really is a blacksmith's daughter. She grew up by the forge, practically in the forge. Cold is a complete stranger to her, and yet she doesn't fear it because she knows she is stronger than it. She isn't scared of freezing in her sleep. She knows it will never happen anyways.

Rose is the opposite. Rose isolates herself to the cold of the forest, because that's the only place she can be. Rose hates being in the house, because she hates that the fire inside will only come to destroy the peace outside.

Elesis thinks of Rose's Maman, of Nika, of how late at night while Rose slept her Maman woke up to talk to Elesis, to entrust her daughter to her. She thinks of Ain's knowing gaze watching from that little room as Elesis and Rose acted like children. She thinks of the stupid vendor who had tried to hire her for his own shady dealings, and the way that Rose turned the conversation around with a simple sentence.

The forge and the forest are vastly different, Elesis decides, as are her and Rose. The only difference with her and Rose is that unlike the fire of the forge and the snow of the forest, they aren't always trying to destroy the other. Instead, they try to protect each other. That will be their duty through this journey.

"Goodnight, Rose," Elesis whispers, leaning over to delicately kiss Rose's forehead. She's still warm and breathing, which is always a relief. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite."

Elesis goes to sleep on the thought that _this is an inn bed_ , and yes, _it probably has bedbugs_.

* * *

She wakes up to a tingling feeling across her back, and her first thought is _bedbug_.

Elesis isn't the biggest fan of bugs (Elsword threw a stinkbug in the forge when they were kids), but she's not opposed to dealing with them. She raises a sleepy hand and swats around across her back. The tingling only stops for a moment before it comes back.

"Stop it," she mumbles, still half asleep. "Mmmm. Stop it."

Then she hears Rose's soft giggling, and her eyes snap open.

Rose is already dressed, save for her cloak. Her hair is freshly plaited back, shining gold in the sunlight. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she teases, taking her slim fingers off Elesis's back. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah, until a vicious bedbug attacked me," Elesis grumbles, sitting up (and failing). "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty," Rose tells her. "I've been up since about five. Old habits die hard, I suppose."

As Elesis fights her way out of the bed to get dressed, Rose tells her of the people she's already talked to today, which includes the innkeeper and a middle-aged woman whose daughter is studying somewhere abroad. "She also said there's a nice garden,," she adds. "It's a very romantic place. Surprisingly has a lot of flowers for this season."

"Then we'll have to go see it," Elesis hums, slipping into her red vest. "Romantic gardens are nice."

Rose immediately blushes the same colour as the vest. "Elesis!" She shrieks, burying her hands in her face.

"What, do you not want to look at the pretty flowers with me?" She teases. "I'm hurt, Rosie."

To make her point, she claps a hand to her chest, though her smirk gives her away instantly. Getting Rose all flustered really is too fun. "I'm just teasing you," she laughs, "but, seriously, I really want to see that garden. I haven't seen flowers in a long time."

After Rose has managed to pull Elesis off the bed, they clean up the room and throw the pillows back into a somewhat orderly pile. "Are we supposed to take this wine?" Rose asks, frowning. "I'm sorry. I've just never been to an inn before."

"Usually they put these here to lure you into drinking it," Elesis explains, putting the bottle back where it was. "It's not included in the hotel bill, so if you open the bottle they can charge you extra for it."

"Oh." Rose looks disappointed. "And here I was thinking we could just take it and run for the hills."

Elesis laughs, because Rose really is so new to the outside world. "Let's go check out."

Check out is surprisingly smooth. The innkeeper asks if they've touched the bottle of "fine wine" at all, and Elesis shoots a pointed look at Rose. The bag of down is exchanged, and then they're off on their merry way, frolicking through the city like children.

"Have you ever tried Chinese tea before?" Elesis asks as they come near a small store selling tea. "You should bring some back for your Maman."

Rose glares at the tea with some level of intrigue. "We already have a lot of tea at home," she muses. "But this would be a nice souvenir for Maman."

The woman selling the tea smiles and pours some tea out of a porcelain pot into two little wooden cups. "Try?"

Rose takes one sip and then proceeds to inhale half the cup in a single go. "That's really hot," she comments, fanning herself, "but that tastes really good."

Elesis picks up the other cup and drinks some herself. It has a mixed scent of crackling rice and dark, bitter tea leaves, like the balm that Rose had put on her horse. "Your Maman would love this," she comments.

They end up buying a little canvas bag of the tea, and Rose puts it into a pocket in her cloak. The woman running the shop gives them a little discount, since they're buying it for Rose's Maman. "I wish my daughter would keep me in her heart like that," she sighs, giving a small handful of change to Rose. "She doesn't have anyone but herself on her mind, the greedy girl."

Breakfast is a steamed bun filled with squishy rice and bits of meat for each of them, eaten as they wander through the "romantic" garden. Small bushes and peonies line the flowerbeds, while magnolia trees rain pristine petals from above. "I've never seen these kinds of flowers before in person," Elesis laughs, spinning around. "Only in books."

"I've never seen them before, period," Rose comments, sitting on a rock from a short distance away. "I don't think romantic describes the garden well. It's more…" she seems to scramble for the word. " _Libre_. Free."

And that's exactly how Elesis would describe it. Not warm, not beautiful, not romantic, but _free_. She feels like she could dance in this garden for a million years, without ever having to leave.

"Dance with me, Rose," she says, stopping to grab her hands and pull her to her feet. "This is the perfect place to dance!"

"But Elesis, I can't dance," Rose complains. Whether she knows it or not, the corners of her mouth keep twitching up as Elesis spins her round and round. "I can't dance."

"Nonsense, I'm sure you've at least just spun around stupidly before," Elesis chuckles. "I've done it before with my brother and the neighbourhood kids. I refuse to believe that you've never done this with your sisters."

Rose blushes again, but she's laughing just as happily, and Elesis knows she's found the playful side of Rose again. Magnolia petals fall around them like blossoming raindrops, landing on them for just fleeting moments before taking back off into the air as they dance through the garden. Elesis stops for a moment to jump onto one of the rocks, and Rose follows her, and they fly through the mountains like birds migrating south for the winter.

Suddenly there's a clap, and both of them freeze. Standing in the entrance to the small garden is a regal procession, at the head of which is a man who radiates nobility but humility. "I didn't know that the garden could be home to such lively movement," he says, smiling softly. "Maybe I should tend to this garden more often, so visitors to the city can enjoy it more."

 _This must be the upright earl that Ain mentioned_ , Elesis thinks.

"Sire, we really don't have the time to be dealing with these misfits," a man in the shadows behind him whispers loudly, just loud enough for Elesis to hear. _And this must be the shady visor_. "I can arrange for them to be removed from the garden, if you'd like-"

"Ran, let them enjoy the garden," the earl drawls. "Please, enjoy your stay here in the Xin capital."

Before his visor can turn him around to leave, Elesis suddenly remembers her epiphany from the day before. "Sir, please-"

"You dare to-"

The earl raises a hand, and his visor goes silent. "That will be enough, Ran," he says. "Yes, traveller, what can I help you with?"

"We've been searching for signs of the Firebird," Elesis says, "and our searching brought us to Xin. Could you perhaps guide us in some sense of direction, towards it…?"

The earl is so serene that Elesis thinks he just might be asleep, and yet his smile conveys so much sadness. "I believe this is more of a matter that we should speak of in the castle, no?"

"Sire-"

"Ran, cancel all my appointments for today," the earl announces. "And tell someone to put on a pot of tea for these ladies. I fear that we may have a lot to talk about, and not enough to say it all."

Elesis shoots Rose a grin.

* * *

"Please call me Aren," says the earl, as they settle into his private study, a beautiful porcelain cup of tea sitting in front of each of them. "And you two are?"

"Elesis Sieghart," says Elesis.

"And I'm Rose Testarossa," says Rose, bringing the _e_ up again in that weird way that Elesis just can't pronounce. "It's an honour to meet you, Lord Aren."

"No, the honour is all mine," he chuckles. "It's been a long time since anyone came to our empire in search of the Firebird. Tell me, my friends, how long have you been travelling?"

Elesis thinks back. "Well, I bunked at Rose's place-"

"I shot your horse," Rose snipes back, prompting light laughter between the three of them. "That was twelve days ago. Most of that was spent in the woods, trekking through the snow."

"We stayed here in the city last night," Elesis says, wrapping up their story. "There's some really cool shops around these parts."

"And the people are all so fluently bilingual!" Rose comments. "Including you, Lord Aren - you speak without so much a semblance of an accent."

"Years of diplomatic trips with my parents has given me that much," he says. "Now, let's talk about the Firebird."

Aren looks around the room; as if he's checking if anyone is secretly there, and sighs. "The Firebird is an immortal creature, you must understand," he says quietly. "With so many years to live, it is constantly on the move. However, when I was, what, ten? Yes, when I was ten, my parents held court with the Firebird here in the Xin stronghold.

"The Firebird had spent many, many years in our empire, and we hadn't even known. He came here to give us his blessing, so he could move to a colder climate. My parents gave him their full blessing, so he could find a home in whatever land he chose to move to."

"Him?" Elesis echoes. "How can you be so sure?"

"Firebirds all begin as humans," Aren assures her. "People with immense inner fire can become Firebirds with time and patience. That is what our country's mythology says."

The three of them sit and think, watching the steam rise from the teacups in wisps. Elesis thinks back to the feather she found. Two years have passed since she stood on guard for a week straight, waiting for the bird, and yet the experience is still clear as day to her. There's no way the feather she found could have been falsified. No feather should come to life in someone's hand, dancing in waves of fire.

But that one did, and it got Elesis a zillion miles away from home, sipping tea in the castle of an earl with her new friend who's never seen the world before.

"Is the inner fire… visible, per se?" Rose suddenly asks, shaking Elesis out of her thoughts. "Would it be possible to see such a fire in a person, so as to identify them as a potential Firebird?"

Aren frowns. "Firebirds are incredibly rare," he admits. "And thus the supply of people who are able to become Firebirds is equally rare. To this day, I have only seen our current Firebird, and I can't even say for sure if he's still the same. I'm unfortunately going to have to answer no to your question, Miss Rose."

He got the accent on the end right on the ball. Rose looks a little surprised, but rolls with it. "Alright then, thank you."

Aren gets up from his seat, calmly checking his robes for any tea stains. "Since you are from faraway lands, I will find a map to explain the issues we all face at the moment." He reaches into a bookshelf, pulling out a slender book and spreading it open on the desk. Elesis scans through the vibrant colours, from Elder to the cities on the coast, to Xin and Abaddon territory, in the west.

"This is where we are," the earl explains, circling the capital of Xin with his finger. "Years ago, the Firebird gave us its blessing when it chose to travel to Abaddon territory, situated in nearby Mongolia. The territory has been ruled traditionally by an elected council, but recently there was a coup d'etat, and power has gone to the current head of the Abaddon family.

"My adviser, Ran, was sent to me by the previous ruling parties of Abaddon, to maintain diplomatic relations with the rulers," he says. "With their fall, however, any and all diplomacy has failed, and my clan is now at war with theirs. And I, without anyone to share the throne with, or an heir to continue my legacy, I cannot safely engage the Abaddon heir in battle without putting the future of the empire at risk."

"Lord Aren, you're not married?" Rose asks. "I-we thought you had been married to a princess some years ago."

He laughs softly. "I did love a wonderful woman, a few years ago," he sighs. "But she was the tenth born child of her family, and they sent her off to be a nun. I haven't seen her since."

"That's too bad," Rose murmurs. "The feeling of loved ones leaving - it really is the worst, isn't it."

"Doubtlessly so," the earl agrees. "Did you lose someone as well?"

Elesis feels Rose's hand to shift into hers, and she grips that hand tightly. "My father, and then my sisters, one after another," Rose continues. "Two of my sisters live in Elder city, and the third has been missing for years."

As Aren reaches over to clasp her other hand in both his own, though, Elesis feels an inexplicable sort of anger flaring up in the pit of her stomach. She takes a breath, squeezes Rose's hand, relaxes a little when she gives it a gentle squeeze back. "Excuse me, Sir, is there somewhere I can relieve myself in the fortress?" She asks, forcing a facade of red to her face.

"Yes, take a right as soon as you leave the room," Aren prescribes, sitting back down softly. "There is a small room on the left side of the corridor. It will be dark, but there is a candle set hanging on the wall.

"Alright, thank you." She lets go of Rose's hand after a final soft nudge and stands up, opening the surprisingly heavy door and slipping out.

The small room he mentioned is locked; Elesis confirms it is the right room by looking at the wall sconce, which was definitely built for a candle holder. Someone must be inside.

She lets out a heavy breath and leans against the wall, trying to admire the wallpaper that lines the other side but unable to find something to admire. Why was she suddenly plagued with such a feeling?

 _You just need to expel all the tea you've had today_ , a little voice inside her chides. Elesis smirks as she realizes it's the voice of Rose's Maman. Yes, she's probably said that exact sentence before. Yes, Elesis was a good person and listened to her, and she'll be a good person now and listen to her again.

The door suddenly clicks. As it swings open, a bundle of white fabric and black hair comes flying out, crashing to the ground with a yelp.

Elesis lunges just in time to catch a young woman wrapped in what must be twenty kilograms of fabric. "I'm so sorry," the girl blurts, red all over as Elesis helps her back to her feet. "Oh god, I'm such a mess. Thank you so much."

"No problem," Elesis tells her, smiling brightly. "Be careful."

"Ara! Is this what you've been doing, harassing your brother's guests?"

The voice of the visor comes pinging down the hallway, instantly making Elesis feel queasy. If this is really what a man from Abaddon is like, suddenly Elesis doesn't really want to see the rest of their clan and territory.

The young woman turns to her with a desperate look. Clearly, she's been equally tormented by this visor, because she swiftly mouths a distressed "HELP ME"before she turns back to the visor with a radiant smile. "Of course not, Mr. Ran."

As she hobbles and trips her way over to the visor, Elesis catches a look at her wobbling platform-like shoes, peeking out from underneath her many skirts.

She quickly locks herself in the washroom, which really is just a small room with a porcelain toilet in the corner. Elesis has seen toilets before, but definitely not one painted with flaming birds. A few of them are wreaking havoc on the mountains and cities depicted in the floor tiles below.

The girl who tripped must have been Aren's sister. She looked quite delicate, her features sculpted like soft flower petals, but there was a sense of despair and distress in her eyes that implied that she doesn't quite trust the visor as much as her brother does.

When Elesis finally returns to Aren's study, he and Rose have struck up a conversation about pickles. "Elesis once ate a cucumber pickle dipped in butter," Rose laughs. "How was it, Elesis?"

"I assume you mean the pickle," Elesis chuckles. "It was interesting. The butter kind of diluted the sourness of the pickle, but seriously, Rose's Maman makes the best pickles ever."

"Oh please," Rose snarks, "if you are then every day for a year straight, you'd probably hate them."

"I stand by my verdict that your Maman makes the best food ever," she says, shrugging. "No offense to the people who make food around these parts. I mean, it's good, but Rose's Maman's cooking is my religion."

"Well, I'll just have to prove you wrong," Aren tells her. "Our chefs here are beyond amazing, and I'm sure they'll have something that will be equally tantalizing for you."

Someone knocks softly three times on the door, and Aren looks up. "Come in, Ara."

The girl in white from earlier opens the door, shyly bowing. "Hello, dearest Brother," she says, bowing, "and hello to your guests as well. My name is Ara Haan. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Your diplomatic entrance is getting better," Aren comments, rising to help her into the room. "You can drop the formalities here if you'd like. Our guests aren't exactly foreign diplomats, per se."

Ara seems to be cheerful enough with or without the formalities, and even though her robes are far more elaborate than her brother's, she sits down with the same grace and dignity. "What brings you two travelers to Xin?"

"We're looking for the Firebird," Elesis tells her.

Again, Ara studies her, large eyes flickering across her gear and winter cloak. She studies Rose too, whether the blonde girl realizes it or not. "The mythology of the Firebird is truly a wonder," she says, smiling. "I do wish you two the best of luck in your journey. How long do you figure you'll stay here in the city?"

Elesis thinks for a moment. "How much more cool stuff do you want to buy for your Maman?" She asks, turning to Rose.

"I think the tea will be enough, thank you," Rose chuckles. "We'll probably be leaving tomorrow."

"Oh, but you have to come see the library!" Ara suddenly exclaims, grabbing one of each of their hands. "There's so much to see and learn and - Brother, may I take the guests to the library?"

"Not in those shoes, you won't," Aren chides. "Tell me what books you want, and I'll have someone bring them up for you."

Ara smiles brightly. "Thank you, Brother! I'll write a list once I get to my room. May I take your guests with me?"

"Of course," Aren tells her. In that moment, Elesis swears the serene smile she's seen them both wear must be imbedded in the heritage, something they must both have inherited. "Be careful. Should I send for Ran to assist you?"

"No!" Ara yelps for a moment, and in that moment Elesis watches her face revert to the distress she had when Ran came to find her in the hallway. "I'll be fine," she says, a little more composed now. "And if I fall, Elesis and Rose can assist me."

As she pushes herself shakily to her feet, Rose and Elesis get up and each grab onto one of her arms, holding her steady until she can stand properly. "Thank you," she says as Aren holds the door open for them to exit. "I'm sorry if I trip often. I'm not quite used to these shoes."

"I apologize if this is insensitive, but do you have bound feet?" Rose asks.

Ara shakes her head. "I've already got two left feet as it is," she quips. "Mother wanted me to have bound feet like hers, but Father said it would be too painful for me. It's just… Ahh, I hate wearing dresses like this."

Elesis shoots a glance at Rose, who makes an _I have no clue_ face, but they continue to support Ara's shaking steps towards her room.

Somehow Ara's personal room is again nothing like anything Elesis could have ever imagined. It's definitely huge, much larger than her brother's study. A soft bed is tucked into the corner, covered with pillows and plush animals. On the other side of the room, a large mahogany desk and matching bookcases are lined with books, more than Elesis has ever seen belonging to one person. One wall is entirely engulfed with a mural of a black panther intertwined with a white fox, in the pattern of a yin-yang symbol. The background seems to be incomplete - paint brushes are among the things strewn across the floors.

"Don't sit on the bed with me, you won't be able to get up," Ara orders as they set her down. "These goddamn skirts…"

As Elesis and Rose watch in shock, Ara lifts up what must be ten layers of skirts and kicks off the weird shoes she was wearing, reducing her height by a solid ten centimetres. The platforms clatter against the floor before sliding to a stop by the wall. "There we go. That's better."

She glares Elesis in the eye, and then Rose, all of her sweetness drained away in moments. "How old are you two? Are you teenagers? Or are you in your twenties?"

"Twenties," they tell her in unison.

"Me too. I have a request for you two," Ara says. "But first, I really need to get out of this dress. Do you guys mind giving me a hand?"

A solid twenty minutes later, they've finally helped Ara remove the billion layers of skirts so she's left in the base layer, a simple tunic. "I seriously felt like I was suffocating under that dress," she comments, pulling her hair out of its updo and combing it straight. "Now, can you two keep a secret?"

"Sure," Rose says. "I grew up with three sisters. I'm good at keeping information away from other people."

"Same here," Elesis adds, thinking of all the times she had to keep her little projects away from Father and Elsword. "I mean, I have a brother, not three sisters, but the idea still stands."

Ara grins. "Good. Because if what I'm about to say leaves the room, I'm going to have to kill you both."

Elesis immediately catches the sudden fall in Ara's confidence, her posture slumping over a little. "My brother's advisor is not a good man," she says, dropping her voice an octave. "Ran is an agent of the former chiefs of the Abaddon territory. The current queen there created a coup d'etat not for power, but to save the people. Ran has been brainwashing my brother, trying to convince him that she's a tyrant and she's out for blood."

"So she hasn't been sending troops against Xin?" Elesis asks, suddenly remembering the words _tyrannical queen_ and _heart of gold_.

"The only people sending troops against Xin are the former chiefs," Ara snorts. "But that's not why I need your help. Ran is fond of constantly policing my actions, since I'm the only Haan child left who hasn't been married off. I suppose I'm a threat to his claim to the throne, in case my brother ever dies in a mysterious accident.

"I only keep two people really close to me - my bodyguard, and my tutor. My bodyguard only shows up when I need to go outside," she explains. "She's trying to amass enough funds to buy freedom for the courtesan she loves. But my tutor…"

It's increasingly clear that tears are welling up in her eyes. "I-we had an affair," she confesses quietly. "We've loved each other for years, but I just… He's too precious for me to let go of. I just wanted to stay with him for as long as I could that night."

The tears turn to anger, and she pounds her fist into the ground. "Ran caught wind that we were in a relationship," she mutters. "Thank god he doesn't know about our night together. He forced my beloved to draft into the army, and sent him out to fight the Abaddon territory. I don't know if he's alive or not, but I refuse to think that he's been captured or killed by the old chiefs. And besides…" Her gaze drops into her lap. "I refuse to bring our child into a world controlled by that dirty creature."

The room is suddenly silent, the only sounds being wind rushing through the open window and the sound of their breathing. "How far along are you?" Rose asks softly. "I really couldn't tell."

"Three and a half months." Ara smiles. "Ah, to think we were really stupid enough to do this three and a half months ago, and now he might be gone and I might be disowned from the family…"

"Do you want us to take you to Abaddon with us?" Elesis says, blinking softly. "Gosh, you really shouldn't be walking across plateaus in your current condition. We're going to have to plan this out properly."

"Walking won't be a problem," Ara says. "I can secure us some horses. Though we will need to avoid the forces that the old chiefs have garnered. If we can make it to their stronghold, I'm sure the Abaddon queen will take us in."

"You should get your bodyguard out of here quickly," Elesis suggests. "In case Ran comes chasing after her and all."

"I should," Ara agrees, nodding. "I'll give her a signed permit to give Kyra her freedom as well when she comes around. Why didn't I think of this earlier?"

 _Kyra_.

Elesis turns to look at Rose, who looks alarmed, but as Ara gets up in the pile of skirts and continues to talk about her plans for her escape, there's nothing they can really do. In the end, she'll be happy with Ara's bodyguard, after all, and hopefully by the time Ara's out of the city, they're far, far away as well, safe and sound and together.

As Ara gets up to write her brother a list of the books she wants (and a message to her bodyguard), Elesis shuffles over to sit next to Rose. "There could be a million people in the world named Kyra, Rose," she says softly, knowing fully well it won't do anything to help.

"Yeah, but I'm still worried," Rose murmurs. "I really want to believe it's her, but at the same time, I really don't. I want to see her, safe and happy, but I don't want to end up disappointed when it's not her."

Elesis blinks. "Do you want a hug?"

"Please," Rose whispers.

She opens her arms, and Rose sinks into her embrace, burying her face into her cloak. "I just want her to be happy and alive and doing well, wherever she is," she mumbles, relaxing.

Elesis thinks about Elsword, about Father.

"I know, my dear," she whispers. "I know."

* * *

When the city is finally still that night, Elesis and Rose emerge from the abandoned store, where they've been hiding since they left the palace. The castle is all dark, save for a single little lamp that illuminates the stables.

"Are you two ready to go?" Ara asks, pushing a book into the tiny bit of space left in her saddlebag. She's suited up in riding attire, not very different from Elesis' outfit. "We've got a long way to ride, so I suggest you get acquainted with Yingguang soon."

"Is this your horse?" Rose asks, stroking the silky white mane of the mare. "She's beautiful."

"She's Add's horse," Ara says softly. "But I bet she loves you guys already."

Swiftly, she steps into the stirrup and swings her leg over her own horse ("Hei'an," she'd called him, "meaning darkness or shadow."). "Let's go, quickly," she whispers.

They'd previously established earlier that day that Rose had never ridden a horse before, and since there was no time to teach her to ride, she's riding with Elesis now. Elesis gives her a quick boost as she climbs up the horse, allowing her to seat herself properly and give Elesis the space she needs to climb on as well. "Okay, this isn't too scary," she comments. "Do I grab onto something?"

"The only thing you can really grab onto is my waist," Elesis admits. "Or maybe my cloak. Sorry."

Rose is silent for a moment, but sure enough, Elesis feels her slender hands snaking around her waist. "Alright," Rose says, shifting her positioning on the horse, "let's hope I don't fall off."

"That would be bad," Elesis agrees.

She nudges Yingguang in the side, and then they're off, running alongside Ara and Hei'an, through the dark city, between stores and through streets that would be crowded in the daytime.

Elesis is constantly tempted to go turn back, to check on Rose and make sure she's doing okay, that she isn't falling off. Losing Rose now, especially since they've come out all this way, would be really, really bad.

But every now and then, Elesis feels Rose's arms tighten a little around her waist, feels her rest her head on her back, feels her warm breath send shockwaves of warmth through her body.

As soon as they leave the city, though, lights come on everywhere behind them. "What's going on?" Elesis shouts, mostly to herself. "Are there people coming after us?"

"Fucking Ran," Ara growls from a distance away, "he must have been listening at the door when we were discussing our escape plan!"

She yells something in her native language to her horse, and clearly Yingguang picks it up too, because both horses speed up instantly, zipping through they swing grasslands like a shooting star and its shadow.

"They're catching up on us," Rose yells, turning back around from looking back. "We need to lose them!"

"Rose, your musket!" Elesis whirls around, hooks one arm around Rose's waist and turns back to gather the reins in her other hand. "Load your musket and shoot!"

It's messy work, since Elesis is split between keeping Rose on the horse and keeping the horse on track, and Rose needs to load her musket quickly without spilling her cartridges out into the void of night. "I got it," she yells.

Elesis holds her breath for the shot, but it never comes. "Rose, what are you waiting for?" She almost screams. "Shoot!"

"Elesis, I can't see! It's too dark, and my eyesight is complete and utter shit!"

"Then _don't_ see!" Elesis pulls Rose a little closer, turns Yingguang towards Hei'an a little bit more. "Close your eyes and let your instincts take over."

A cracking sound splits the night air, followed by an abysmal screech that Elesis has heard once before, and never wants to hear again. But it means Rose made a successful shot, and that makes it all worth it. "You did it, Rose!" She yells. "Do it again!"

Rose loads another cartridge, takes another shot, and another, and another. A voice rises above the din of hooves stampeding, issuing a single order. "They're retreating," Ara translates. "Keep going, we can't afford to stop now!"

And so the night drones on. Rose slings her musket back over her shoulder and goes back to holding Elesis's waist instead of the other way around, while Elesis turns back to the reins and tries to ignore the weird twisted pain in her waist from turning back for so long. It's not all too bad with Rose laying across her back, though.

They reach the heart of Abaddon territory two mornings later, after days of hiding in plain sight on the plateau and nights of riding ceaselessly. As Elesis, Ara and the horses rest during the day, Rose takes over the duty of watching over them, just in case someone tries to attack them, and at night, she sleeps draped across Elesis's back, no longer fearing being thrown off Yingguang's rump.

Elesis has never seen Abaddon territory anywhere in books, even though it is a massive empire large enough to rival the great Xin. The fortress at its center is not like Xin's stronghold, which is surrounded by a towering wall. Rather, the Castle of Abaddon is built into the plateau, drastically increasing its defensive abilities while also clearing way for equally powerful attacking strategies.

Ara tells them that the people of Abaddon territory are mostly nomadic, but the capital in the plateau has remained there for a very long time. Due to its well-designed structure and overall military excellency, the capital is much too well constructed to abandon.

"We must let the queen know who we are," Ara says as they near the gates to the castle. "Stay behind me. I'll speak for all of us."

A pair of guards stop them at the gates. "Good morning, travelers," one says. "What brings you to the Castle of Abaddon today?"

Ara's bottom lip wobbles; her eyes go glossy with tears. "I am Ara Haan, sister of the great Earl Aren Haan and princess of the Xin empire," she says. "And I am seeking political asylum from the queen of Abaddon territory."

The guards bow together. "Of course, milady. Shall we accompany you and your companions into the castle?"

They bring Elesis, Rose and Ara to the royal stables. While one helps them off their horses, the other rushes inside to inform the queen of their coming.

"I'm a little bit scared of the Abaddon queen," Rose confesses quietly as Elesis helps her off Yingguang's back. "Ain did say she was a tyrannical queen."

"Yeah, but he also mentioned that she has a heart of gold," Elesis offers. "She can't be all that bad, and if Ara says she's okay, then I figure she won't eat us for breakfast."

Stepping into the court of the Abaddon queen, though, Elesis feels immensely out of place. The people of Abaddon are all dressed in traditional Mongolian robes and headgear. While Ara may be in riding gear, hers is in the Chinese style, not too different from the riding gear used in Abaddon, and no one can match the grace she upholds.

The Queen of Abaddon is a woman who looks like she's made of snow. She looks very young, perhaps still in her teenage years, but she still conveys the same noble humility that Aren Haan showed. With just a flick of her hand, the entire courtroom drains out, save for one tall man standing at her side. Elesis presumes he must be the silent butler.

"Princess Ara," the queen says, her voice bouncing off the walls of her courtroom. "It is an honour to meet you."

Ara bows her head. "The honour is all mine, Queen Luciela."

"But let us not waste any time with diplomatic approaches," the queen adds, standing up to wrap Ara in a hug. "Welcome to your new home, Ara. Until we can free your brother from that demon of an advisor, this is your home."

"Thank you, Luciela," Ara mumbles.

"Just Lu is fine," says the queen. "Just between you and me, and your cute friends too." She winks at Elesis and Rose. Elesis gives her an awkward grin. "Are they also seeking asylum with you?"

"No, they will be moving onwards soon in search of the Firebird, as soon as they are well rested," Ara says. "Lu, I have a question."

"Ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my ability," she says, "though I get the feeling I already know what you're going to ask."

"Have you seen a man by the name of Edward Grenore in your kingdom? He also goes by Add."

Lu smiles softly, and it is such a saddened smile that Elesis has to reach for Rose's hand to stop herself from crying. "He is alive, and he lives in this castle," she says. "He has been waiting for you for a long time, Ara."

Ara buries her face in Lu's shoulder and cries, cries.

Rose squeezes Elesis's hand. Elesis knows she must be thinking of her sister again.

So she opens her arms, and holds Rose as the sobbing of two people fills the courtroom.

* * *

"We found him on the battlefield, after a particularly violent clash with the old chieftains," Lu explains as she brings Elesis and Rose wandering through the castle. "He must have been captured by them and put to work as a slave or a soldier, and then maybe thrown into some battles. He didn't look like a soldier of Abaddon, so I figured something fishy was up and we brought him back in."

"Is he badly injured?" Rose asks.

Lu bites her lip. "Nothing physically life-threatening, but he has a lot of mental and emotional scars. We're hoping Ara will be able to help him heal from some of those."

"Then it's a good thing she came," Elesis says. "For both of them."

"Exactly," Lu says, nodding. "Add really cannot break out of his current condition without her, and Ara… well, I don't think she'd be able to carry through her pregnancy without Add by her side."

"Has she gone to meet him yet?"

Lu smiles. "Of course," she says. "My butler has gone to escort her."

* * *

The tall man is silent, but Ara thanks him profusely nonetheless the whole way there.

"I apologize for inconveniencing you," she says, heart racing at a million miles per hour. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Lu's assistant points at her, then points at the door, then forms a heart with his fingers. "Yes, I do love him a lot," she says. "He is my world."

The man smiles mutely, and points at the door again, conveying a single message: _go be with him_. "Alright," Ara says. "Thank you once again!"

She opens the door, and her breath catches in her throat.

His hair is no longer pristinely trimmed like it used to be, instead growing out into a fluffy white mop. He's looking out the window, almost glaring at it, his lips slightly pursed like they are when he's thinking super hard about something. He's still clothed in all black, a habit he's kept over the years that's come to be endearing. A large scar swims through the side of his face; there are more that he must be hiding.

But he's still Add, and Ara still loves him.

"This is the part where I wake up," he says suddenly, shaking her from her thoughts. _God, even his voice sounds the same_. "Go away, dream Ara. You're not really there."

"But I am," she says, finding the strength to speak suddenly. "Add, I'm here with you."

"Then prove it," he says, still not facing her. "Prove that you're my Ara."

Ara sheds her cloak, tossing it onto the bed on the other side of the room. "Do you remember how we confessed our love to each other?" She whispers, beginning to undo the buttons on her inner vest. "You wrote me a love poem, and I sang you a love song. It was only afterwards that we realized that we'd named the pieces the same thing."

"My beautiful," Add mutters, still mostly unfazed.

"And then two years ago, after my brother had the garden made, we danced there together," she says, now tossing her vest aside. "We danced among the magnolias and the peonies, and we danced together on the rocks in the garden."

Add is now focused on her and only her now. "Three proofs, Ara," he begs, tears streaming down his face, for the one real proof that she's real and alive and with him. "Three proofs."

Ara sits down on his knees, like she always did when she wanted to kiss him back then. "Do you remember the night before you left?" She whispers, picking his hands up and placing them on her abdomen gently. "You held me so close, and you told me we would always be connected in love, in our love. This, this is what came from our love."

Add breathes in. "How long has it been?"

"Three and a half months, Add." Ara's eyes are glistening again; perhaps they were never dry to begin with. "This is our baby."

Add pushes his forehead against Ara's, and she relaxes in his scent. "You're safe now," he murmurs. "Both of you."

"And so are you," Ara says, smiling.

No more words need to be exchanged.

* * *

Goodbyes are never fun for Elesis.

Saying goodbye to the village that hosted her for two years was awkward and rather terrifying. Saying goodbye to Rose's Maman (and very nearly having to say goodbye to Rose) was torturous.

But now, as she stands at the gate to the Castle of Abaddon with Rose at her side, she feels free, almost like the people sending her off are giving her the spirit to keep going.

During their two week stay in Abaddon, Lu had showered them in gifts, from new cloaks and clothes to two beautiful mustangs for the next leg of their trip. While they caught up on sleep and Elesis reset her sleep cycle, she also taught Rose to ride, so they can each take one of the mustangs.

"If you head due north from here, you'll be able to find the crossing for the mountain range," Lu explains as they pack the last of their supplies into their saddlebags. "And just between us, thank you, both of you. Since you've brought Ara here, both she and Add have been recovering well, and since his sister now prefers to be in my empire instead of his, Aren's going to be doing some serious questioning of Aran. So really, thank you."

"We need to thank you, too," Rose insists. "For hosting us for such a long time. And for not attacking us when we kinda invaded your court super early in the morning."

"Usually bears attack us when we do that," Elesis tacks in, punching Rose lightly in the shoulder.

"In any case, we must be on our-"

"WAIT!"

Ara suddenly comes rushing out of the courtyard, wrapped in a giant blanket. "I forgot to give you this," she exclaims, passing a beautiful bound book with gold leaf wrapping the spine to Elesis. "It's about different Firebirds, from different countries!"

"Oh my god, this is gorgeous," she gushes. "Thank you, Ara."

"And for you, Rose," Ara continues, pulling a canvas bag out of the blanket cocoon. "I saw that you bought tea for your mother, so I got you some more."

Rose looks like she's on the verge of tears. "I-ah shit. Thank you."

Hugs are exchanged and passed around, while Add stands awkwardly aside to wait for Ara to return to hugging him. "I don't have anything right now, but thank you so much," he says. "For bringing my Ara back to me."

"You guys need to come visit when our baby comes!" She pipes. "Seriously. You can be co-godmothers or something. We'll figure something out."

"Aw, what about me?" Lu asks, pouting.

"You can be their older sister, you gremlin," Add snickers. Ara smacks him over the head softly.

"Bye now!" They call out as Elesis and Rose ride away on Peony and Magnolia, into the morning mist yet again.

Except this time, they have two horses instead of none.

"Ready to go?" Elesis asks, grinning at Rose, who drops her sleepy sadness to grin back.

"Are you?"

And so they ride into the morning sun, their hearts full of joy and their bags full of goodies that Lu packed for them.

* * *

 **A/N: i finished this chapter at like 2 am this morning, slept for about five and a half hours, got up to babysit ten kids all at once, spent my afternoon downtown wandering, and honestly i have the mental strength of a brick right now and i need to get writing if i want to finish this fic tuesday**

 **the reason Ciel is mute is because when his family was murdered by the old chiefs of Abaddon, they tore out his tongue for crying. He uses some form of proto-sign language to communicate**

 **I really want to make designs of everyone in this, especially Ara's thousand layer dress but also i have no time to do anything as is**

 **Hei'an means darkness or in some contexts shadow, and Yingguang technically means glow-in-the-dark but like historically i'm sure there's a better translation for it bc while i speak rather sarcastic mandarin poetic/archaic is not my forte**

 **~Marg**


	5. The Firebird

V.

Peony is the first to stop when they near the edge of the woods, and Magnolia follows soon afterwards, both pawing at the snow and whinnying nervously.

"They aren't going to go any further," Elesis realizes as she backs away and tries to bring Peony into that impenetrable circle again. "Rose, we need to dismount and walk on our own. We've entered into the Firebird's circle of influence."

Rose looks like she wants to argue, but decides against it. "Should we chain them here?" She asks. "Or would that be stupid? Maybe we can just take all our belongings out of their saddlebags and leave them here until we can go convince the Firebird to stop scaring our horses."

"It would be cruel to chain them," Elesis says. "Let's grab all our stuff and let them wander. Maybe they'll find their way home to the Castle of Abaddon."

"All the way through the mountains? Probably not," Rose sighs. "Alright. Time to say goodbye, ponies."

Elesis feels a pang of guilt as she unloads Peony's saddlebags. This is the second time she's had to leave a horse behind, not including the horses she grew up with in Elder. "Stay safe with Magnolia, 'kay?"

In response, Peony snorts and trots off away. Rose laughs lightly as Elesis's face falls. She doesn't even bother going after the mustang, who must be overjoyed to finally be free.

"Alright then, goodbye to you too, Magnolia," Rose hums, patting her horse on the snout. "Attagirl. And keep an eye on Peony. I get the idea she's gonna get herself into way too much trouble if you don't watch out for her."

Magnolia, who seems to be significantly better behaved, whinnies softly before trotting after Peony, the two padding through the snow, never crossing that invisible border. "Goodbye, ponies," Rose calls after them, waving even though they won't see her. "I hope we meet again."

Elesis turns now to the pile of backpacks lying in the snow, grimacing. Most of it is travel supplies and food, though the book of Firebirds that Ara gave her sits at the side of one of the bags, and the tea for Rose's Maman is in another. "This is going to be a pain to carry," she groans out loud as she grabs one and slings it over her back. "Is there any way we can cut down the weight?"

"We really don't have much of a choice but to carry them and keep going," Rose mutters in reply as she starts to stack a few of her own, tying them to each other before kneeling down to pull the straps of the main bag over her shoulders. "Do you want some help with that?"

It's clear she's holding back laughter as Elesis attempts to wrestle the rest of her gear onto her bag. "I give up," she sighs, throwing her hands in the air. Two of the bags fall off her back as she stands up. "Please help me, oh less impulsive and better-adjusted one."

Rose's laughter instantly brightens the shadows of the forest. Elesis watches in a stupor as Rose makes her sit down, then proceeds to tie all of her bags together. "There," she murmurs, affixing a last baggage of food and letting it dangle. "That should stay put while we trek through the forest."

She reaches out a hand, and Elesis takes it, letting herself be pulled to her feet. "Thanks," she says simply. "Time to get going, I guess."

The snow crunches and crackles beneath their feet as they navigate between trees further into the forest. Every once in a while a bird chirps from far away, its voice echoing through the lonely forest. There are no signs of anyone living in the forest, not even animals.

"Everything must be hiding from us," Rose comments. "Or maybe the Firebird is protecting them?"

"Either way, we need to go further into the Firebird's magic circle," Elesis insists, glaring into the ashen distance. "There's no way he's going to be just out in the open. He's testing us, testing our patience."

She's been reading Ara's book of Firebirds from all over the world, and it's given her hope to continue. According to the book, Firebirds go by many names across the world. In Ara's native language, they call it _Fenghuang_ , a creature of grace whose feathers carry the virtues of all humanity. Farther to the east, it is known as _ho-o_ , and in India to the south, the people call it _gandaberunda_ , a bird of two heads and immense power. Thousands of years ago, the people of Egypt in the far southwest called it _bennu_ , and worshipped it as a god of rebirth and a herald of the sun.

The book also provides her with a lot of information about the Firebird itself, though specific to each cultural depiction. Most call it a reincarnator, a bird that cannot die. Some comment of its ability to destroy cities with flame, to bathe people in fire and leave only ashes. A few accounts proclaim its ability to heal the wounded with its tears.

Nothing touches upon the reason why this Firebird visits Elder every year to take its golden apples.

She reads as Rose heats up some of the bread and preserved meats that Lu had sent them off with, a light lunch for a heavy day of walking. Clouds are starting to gather overhead, and snowflakes land once in a while on the pages.

Elesis realizes quickly that if she tries to nudge them off, they'll melt under her body heat and leave little wet splotches on the delicate book, so she blows them away with a puff of breath.

They eat their warm sandwiches under a small tree, watching the sun disappear into the clouds and emerge shining again. "Elesis," Rose gasps, "there are chipmunks here!"

Sure enough, a few tiny chipmunks have gathered at the base of a nearby tree, blinking inquisitively at Elesis and her sandwich. "Oh, these little guys are cute." Looking at what remains of her sandwich, Elesis pulls the slice of ham out and sticks it in her mouth before throwing the rest of the bread to the little critters. They pounce on it, chittering happily. "Hey Rose, do you like chipmunks or bunnies more?"

Rose is silent for a moment as she thinks. "Normally I'd like bunnies more," she says thoughtfully, "because when I'm hunting, chipmunks tend to distract me. But seeing bunnies in my traps, it hurts. That's why I brought Nika back, because I feel so bad when they get hurt because of me."

Her expression turns sour for a moment. "That, and I literally had to fight Nika for Maman's attention before we left."

Elesis laughs. "When we ran into that bunny yesterday, you literally called it a homewrecker."

"I get jealous, okay?" Rose says, pouting. "Besides, you yelled at the wolf."

"That works on wolves, not bunnies," Elesis chuckles, "because wolves have a social hierarchy. Bunnies don't usually have leaders to guide them, or moms to cuddle them."

"Fair point." Rose tosses the crust of her sandwich at the chipmunks. One squeaks and nips onto the entire thing, dragging it off with the others in hot pursuit. "Goodbye, little critters. Remember to share."

With the sandwiches now consumed and shared, they pack up their bags again. Elesis tucks the book away into the space she's made for it, and slings the entire package back over her shoulders. She takes a step into the new snow that's fallen freshly, crunching down into the snow of days past. "Rose, you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

Elesis finds a few fallen branches that they can use as walking sticks to support themselves in their trek through the snow, and they keep going. There's more sounds of life now, despite the nasty-looking storm rolling in. Squirrels scutter through the trees, dropping little bits of snow from overhead. Birds sing their songs, and Rose sings right back. A proud wolf stops to look at them, golden eyes anchored on Elesis for a heartbeat before it prowls away into the depths of the forest.

"The Firebird is a creature of flames," Elesis says at some point. "Why would it choose to live in such a snowy, frozen forest?"

"Maybe it doesn't like warm climates," Rose suggests. "Like, when you said that you don't like sleeping next to the fire because it's too warm. The Firebird probably hates warm places because it's already filled with fire."

Elesis catches a bit of a frown on her face, but Rose regains her composure quickly. "Have you seen a burned forest?" She asks. "Like, a forest after there's been a huge fire. Between the ashes and the barren trees, it looks a lot like a forest in winter."

"Huh." Elesis tries to imagine a forest after flames have razed it. Somehow, the only thing that comes to mind is the burning forest. Instead, she focuses on the snowy forest ahead. "Have you seen a forest after it burned down before?"

"I've seen it in books," Rose says. "But in all sincerity, I hope I never have to see a burning forest anytime in my life."

The aura in the forest changes, and Elesis stops. "What's wrong?" Rose asks.

Elesis sees a little log cabin, not too different from the little house that Rose and her Maman live in, far in the distance. When she closes her eyes, she sees it still, not a picturesque house of serenity and peace but the hazy epicentre of a magical ripple.

"Do you see that little house, way out there?" She says, pointing towards it. "Wait. You can't see it really well, can you. Close your eyes and feel for it."

Rose obliges, tilting her head as her eyes flutter shut and her breathing evens out. "Can you see it now?" Elesis says breathlessly. "That's where the Firebird lives."

"I can see it, Elesis," Rose replies quietly. "We need to go there."

Elesis holds out her hand, and Rose takes it, and they run, _run_ , ignoring that the snow seeps through their boots, forgetting the weight on their backs as they fly through the forest like a pair of cardinals. Adrenaline rushes through Elesis's veins, her heart is threatening to pound through her chest, but she doesn't care, because _she's done it._

The stupid king can go die in a fire, because _she found the Firebird_.

They skid to a stop in front of the little log cabin, which has a single door on the front. _Solace_ , the mailbox reads. Elesis finds it funny that there's a mailbox to begin with. No one's going to be delivering mail to this place.

Rose looks at her in anticipation. "Well? What are you waiting for?" She asks, a jubilant smile dancing across her lips. "Knock on the door."

Elesis raises her gloved hand and knocks on the door sharply, three times.

" _Perri, did you lock yourself out again?_ " Says a voice from inside, slightly exasperated. " _I'll be there in a moment._ "

The door swings open to reveal a young woman with bright curious eyes, delightedly surprised. "I…" Elesis gulps as the words escape her now. "Is this…"

"You must be Perrihart's chosen," says the woman. "Elesis."

She nods. "Elesis Sieghart. And this is Rose."

The woman studies them for a moment before stepping aside to let them in. "My name is Harnier Solace," she says. "Call me Harnier. The Firebird you seek, Perrihart Solace, is my husband. He's not in right now, but if you wait a little longer, he'll be back from hunting."

Her smile is serene and soft. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for him."

Elesis reaches for the words, but can't find them.

* * *

Harnier is incredibly motherly, not in the way that Rose's Maman is motherly but in her own soft, almost ditzy way.

"He said there were two candidates, and in the end it didn't matter which one picked up the feather," she says as she pours them each a cup of tea. "And I told him to pick his chosen well, because the last one he found died before they could even make it here! How long have you two been travelling?"

"About a month now," Rose says. "For me, at least. Elesis has been away from home for over two years."

"Yeah." Elesis accepts the tea with both hands and takes a sip. It has a vague scent of cedar and dried apples. "After I got kicked out of Elder, I spent two years working in a nearby village so I could gather enough supplies to come here."

"Oh, but that must have brought you to Rose," Harnier gasps. "Did you two decide to travel together? Or did fate decide to drop you in the same boat?"

Elesis grins. "A bit of both, to be honest," she says, shooting a glance at Rose. "I'd been travelling for about a week at the time, and I stumbled through the area where Rose lives with her Maman."

"I shot you off your horse," Rose deadpans, though the smile on her face tells Elesis she's just messing around too. "And while her horse recovered, she stayed at my house and we rescued a bunny and got snowed in."

"But eventually Rose's Maman told us to leave together," Elesis concludes, "and so here we are."

Harnier nods happily. "Did you get directions from Xin or from Abaddon to come this way?"

"We went to Xin first, but then with some, ah, _adventuring_ , we went to Abaddon, and Queen Lu… ciela directed us here," Rose tells her. "So I guess a little bit of both."

"Oh, that's good," Harnier says. "Both empires are beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. Xin has some really nice teas, and Abaddon makes fantastic swords. Perrihart got his there."

Elesis feels a shockwave of fear run down her spine as Harnier mentions her husband yet again. It seems so surreal that she's come all this way, she's spent so long fighting, and now she's at the end of her journey. She could meet the Firebird who shook her life out of its fiery foundations any moment now, and yet in no way is she ready for this meeting.

"How long have the two of you been married?" Rose suddenly asks, her voice throwing Elesis back into reality.

Harnier thinks for a moment. "This coming October we're celebrating our three hundred and fifty second anniversary," she finally says. "Gosh, I need to start working on this year's present…"

She laughs when she sees the blatant shock and surprise on Elesis and Rose's faces. "We've been living for a long, long time," she reminds them. "We were married soon after Perri unlocked his fire. That was about three hundred and sixty years ago, give or take."

"But you're mortal," Elesis manages.

Harnier's eyes twinkle with mischief. "Am I really?"

There's a knock at the door, and Harnier gasps and sets down her teacup. "Perri is home," she says delightedly, getting up and grabbing her skirts so she doesn't trip over them as she goes to open the door for her husband.

Elesis turns to face Rose, who looks like she's trying her best to not curl up in a tiny ball. "It'll be alright," she offers, grasping Elesis's hand. "If his wife is this nice, I don't think he'll be too bad."

The door opens, bringing in a blast of cold as a figure cloaked in black steps in. "Welcome home, Perri," Harnier says, pushing the man's hood away to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "Did you catch anything big?"

"I got a deer this time," says Perrihart Solace, Firebird of Siberia. His voice reverberates through the room. Elesis can feel waves of fiery energy radiating from him, like waves on an ocean of flame. "Were you lonely while I was out?"

"Not really," Harnier giggles, stepping aside so her husband can look into the room. "Your chosen is here."

Elesis looks into the face of the Firebird. Stern red eyes meet hers, but she finds a kindred soul in the flames that burn within.

"Welcome to our home, Elesis Sieghart," Perrihart says. "It's a pleasure to meet you again."

* * *

While Harnier prepares a portion of the deer for dinner, Perrihart sits down in the living room with Elesis and Rose to answer all their questions, which is an awful lot. "This is why Harnier and I don't have kids anymore," he jokes. "I really don't think I could handle tiny humans running around this tiny house."

"And yet you romance me nonetheless," Harnier calls accusingly from their kitchen. "I recall a certain someone saying something about wanting kids when-"

"Let's cut that off right there," Perrihart interjects, face red. "Harnier and I have been married for over three hundred and fifty years, yes."

"Where did you come from?" Rose asks. "Did you grow up in this area?"

"I was born in what is now Mongolia," he explains. "My father was the head of a clan, so my mother wasn't his only wife. In fact, I wasn't even his only son. I was third youngest of my siblings. When I was eighteen or so, my father found a stranger in his tent, taking medication from a chest. But when my father tried to stop him, he was knocked aside. The stranger turned into a falcon of flames and flew away. That was our first experience with the Firebird.

"Father sent my brothers and I out into the world to find the Firebird. I didn't stay with my brothers for long, especially my eldest brother Siegmund. I was never fond of him. I travelled alone on horseback for maybe a few hours before I was caught by a wolf, who knocked me off my horse and ate it."

His smile grows fond. "That wolf turned out to be a child of the moon," he continues. "Not quite an actual wolf, but he was a shapeshifter not unlike the Firebird we'd met. His name was Artemis Ebalon, and he was my best friend for many, many years.

"We travelled together through Mongolia together, and along the way we met Caerwyn Ventus. He was fae, you see. He's returned to his homeland now, but he could manipulate the winds. It made our travels much safer and faster."

Harnier walks over and puts her hands on his shoulders. "And then they found me," she chuckles. "Poor little me was living locked up in a room in a convent. Perri and Artie and Winnie got me out of there, and we all went on together to find the Firebird."

"We did find him, eventually," Perrihart continues, putting his hands over hers softly. "His name was Ea Rosso."

"Hold on a second," Rose suddenly interjects. "Didn't you say Firebirds are immortal?"

"Rosso's technically still alive," Perrihart says. "In fact, he's technically alive and sitting on a shelf in our bedroom. He's just… Not active."

"When Firebirds die or are killed, they crumble into ash and rise again from those ashes," Harnier says. "Rosso loved a water dragon, three hundred years ago. That dragon was our friend as well. His name was Kai Denif.

"Most Firebirds do have a lover who they wish to stay together with through their immortality, but more often than not that lover is mortal. Rosso chose someone who could live a very long time - Denif could have lived for maybe a hundred more years at the time he and Rosso decided to end their lives."

"They really did love each other," Perrihart says wistfully. "Rosso wanted to find a source of golden apples for Denif, so he could live longer. But in the end, we found out too late that golden apples don't mesh well with dragons, and it only put a strain on Denif's lifespan.

"They visited a sage - Adamas Gaia, a man of few words and much wisdom. He gave them a solution, and they took it. Rosso turned to ash, and Denif turned to water. Due to Denif's water, Rosso can't reform, and because of the box they're in, Rosso can't make Denif evaporate out."

"So now they're forever together," Harnier concludes with a sad smile. "Rosso was able to cheat life, and be with Denif."

The words _golden apple_ still bounce through Elesis's mind, and she lets them out. "The golden apple you took," she blurts, "was it for Harnier?"

"You catch on quickly," Perrihart smirks. "Yes, it was. That's her secret to immortality, and the reason she still looks like she's twenty despite being nearly four hundred years old."

Harnier makes a face and gives her husband a smack over the head. "Thank you for the flattery, but that will get you nowhere."

"It got me a kiss last time," Perrihart gleefully informs Elesis and Rose, before reaching up to bring Harnier down for a kiss.

Elesis turns and makes eye contact with Rose. _Ew_ , she mouths.

Rose nods and grimaces.

The venison in the oven is done cooking shortly after that, and the couple stop making out so Harnier can go pull the food out before it burns. When the oven door opens, the entire house is filled with the scent of fragrant spices and solid venison.

Rose is silent throughout most of the dinner, only saying thank you when Perrihart hands her a plate of Harnier's fantastic cooking. When Elesis reaches over to squeeze her hand, to try and comfort her, it seems like she's finally gathered up the courage to ask a question that's been pressing on her mind for a while.

"Why did you choose Elesis, of all people?" She asks quietly. "Is it because she's the daughter of a blacksmith?"

Perrihart looks a little bit stunned by the question at first, but he recovers quickly and smiles. "Oh god, I thought you would have realized it by now," he chuckles, setting down his fork and knife. "Elesis, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure." She lets go of Rose's hand, a little confused but willing to work with it. "What's up?"

"Put your dominant hand palm-up on the table," Perrihart instructs. "Think of something happy."

Elesis closes her eyes, and the first setting that comes to mind is that afternoon she and Rose spent sitting in a tree, talking about the stupidest, most mundane things. The faint scent of pickles dipped in butter dance through her mindscape.

The scene changes to the barn loft, when she'd held Rose's hands and asked her to come with her on her travels. Instead of the devastation that had washed over her the first time, though, she feels only comfort, because she knows Rose is right next to her.

There's a gasp in the real world. "Elesis, what…"

Elesis opens her eyes to a small flame sitting in the palm of her hand. "What's going on?" She says, almost pleads. She's used to flames, she grew up by the forge, but never has she _made_ fire herself like this. "Why am I holding fire?"

Perrihart smiles. "Elesis, I gave you a feather because I saw the fire in you. All you needed was a way to awaken it."

She doesn't want to believe it. "It can't be," she mutters, closing her hand to extinguish the fire. " _I_ can't be."

She wants to hear someone say those words out loud, but at the same time it's mental agony to so much as _think_ of it.

And yet Rose is the one who breaks the silence, the one who turns the world back on its feet and shatters it all over again for her.

"Elesis, you're the Firebird."

* * *

It turns out the Solaces only have one guest room, so Elesis and Rose end up sharing a bed yet again.

The situation isn't exactly stranger to them, though. The bed-ocean in the inn in Xin was shared in exhaustion and backache. They mostly shared a room during their time in Abaddon, because Rose had been plagued by nightmares of blindly shooting a single bullet into the darkness and hitting the people she loves the most. Maman. Edna. Cora. Papa. Kyra.

(Elesis.)

What makes this time strange is that unlike the others, they don't have nearly enough pillows to make a barrier between them. There's only one pillow for the two of them, and it's barely large enough for one of them to rest their heads on. Instead, they just put the single pillow up between the two of them and lie down and hope sleep finds them.

Elesis tries to pace out her breathing, to relax under the world-shattering realization that now not only is she immortal, but she's capable of crying out a panacea elixir and burning entire cities to the ground.

The thought of returning to the forge a changed person doesn't help much either.

Even if she can't sleep, she closes her eyes and looks for peace. Only memories return - yelling at the wolf to assert dominance so it wouldn't hurt Rose, trying not to laugh as Rose tried to eat rice, dancing with Rose through the garden in Xin, _Rose_ , who is asleep and resting and very much alive and by her side.

Except she's not asleep and definitely not resting. Sobs wrack her body as she curls up next to Elesis, crying silently and alone. "Hey," Elesis whispers, causing her to pause for a moment. "Do you want a hug?"

"Please," comes the desperate reply.

Elesis removes the pillow barrier to reveal Rose's teary face, pleading for comfort. "It's gonna be alright," she says softly, reaching forwards to pull Rose towards her. "We're gonna go home and everything's going to be alright."

"You're going to live forever," Rose whispers. "Someday I'm going to be gone, and you'll forget about me."

"If Harnier has stayed alive for nearly four hundred years on those golden apples, then you can, too," Elesis replies. "I'll find a way to stay at your side forever, I swear. I'm supposed to be magical now, remember? I'll make it happen. I'll make us happen."

Even through her tears, Rose smiles. "You're so amazing, Elesis. I wish I could have half your courage and motivation."

"And I wish I could have half your impulse control," Elesis tells her. "You're amazing the way you are too, Rose."

"I'm just as impulsive as you are," Rose murmurs, brushing Elesis's face with her thumb. "I just save it for the important things."

She pauses for a moment. "Like this."

Elesis doesn't really register it at first, but she melts as Rose kisses her, and holds her closer than ever before. The fire inside her burns with the strongest fire, the one at the hearth that never goes out. She sinks into the kiss, and when they pull away from each other there are tears streaming down Rose's face, and Elesis gathers her into her arms and holds her tight.

Rose cries into her chest like the world is about to end, and Elesis holds her, kisses her forehead, the tip of her nose, her lips, anything to tell her that she'll be there for her, that they're stronger together and she'd be lost without her.

When Elesis hears Rose's breathing even out again, when she feels Rose's grip soften with sleep, she pulls away softly and gets up out of the bed.

Questions were what started this, and the only ending she'll get is some answers.

She finds Perrihart Solace awake and not sitting on one of the couches in the living room, but on the roof in the cold of the evening. "I'm going to assume you're not cold either," Elesis says as she climbs up to join him.

"We have enough innate fire to keep us warm and alive through any weather," Perrihart says, smiling warmly. "Can't sleep?"

"I… Not tonight, I guess."

Perrihart laughs. "Did you and Rose share hearts?"

A light blush rises to Elesis's face. "I guess we did."

"Do you love her?"

That's the question that Elesis has been trying to answer all along, the question that she never asked herself.

But after the events of this night, she finally has the answer.

"I do love her," she says simply, "but I'm terrified of her. She's so perfect, and she doesn't even know it. I'm afraid of hurting her."

"A reasonable fear," Perrihart hums. "It took me a very long time to tell myself I could love Harnier, because it seemed so unthinkable at the time. I loved her long before I knew I was a Firebird, but the revelation just kind of shattered my heart at the time."

A thought suddenly hits Elesis. "You haven't finished your story. What happened after you met Rosso and Denif and found out you were a Firebird?"

"I took my newfound powers, and I took my beloved Harnier, and my two best friends in the entire world, and we went home," he says. "But my brothers overtook us on the road. They abducted Ebalon and Ventus, and they took Harnier, and then they killed me."

The smile on his face turns a little sadistic. "But what they didn't understand is that I could come back," he says. "I came back from the ashes, I came back to life and went home and stopped them. Siegmund tried to kill me again himself, and I came back again and I burned him to ashes."

He stares out into the night sky. "Your brother is my other chosen one," he says. "I left the feather there for either of you. I figured, even if you did get kicked out of Elder, both of you have the motivation to come searching for me again. Fire burns brighter if you give it more fuel, after all.

"Your brother has been waiting for you in Elder. In the two years since you left, he's built an army to avenge you," he continues. "They've been waiting for an opportunity to destroy the king and level his castle, and I think if you returned to Elder, that would be the perfect chance to strike out. Plus, you get to take a good look at your newfound abilities."

"Does this mean I can fly now?"

"Absolutely," Perrihart chuckles. "You can fly pretty long distances now. And with a little practice, you can focus just about any emotion into fire. Rage is probably the easiest, though I wouldn't advise starting with that because it's hard to control."

Elesis nods, breathless. "One last question. Why Rose?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious? When I told you to think of something happy, was she the only thing on your mind?" He says, continuing on without waiting for an answer. "For me it was to some extent Ebalon and Ventus, but most of it was Harnier. _Love_ is the most powerful fire to reside in any human, Elesis. Don't ever underestimate what you're willing to do for love."

Perrihart gets up and stretches his arms. Elesis sees the outlines of feather rippling in gold forming on his arms. "I'm going to go take a fly," he says. "In the morning, I'll give you two of Ventus's wind horses. They go very fast, but they're good at following instructions, and they'll go wherever you want them to. Stay on the horse until you get where you want to go, because they'll fade to wind when you dismount."

He steps to the edge of the roof. "Now, go get some sleep."

Elesis watches in awe as he jumps off and turns into a falcon in midair, shimmering in red and gold in the dark of the night. She rolls up her own sleeve and thinks of flying, of soaring through the skies _with Rose_ , and watches the little golden feathers dance across her arms as well.

She gets down from the roof in her first flight ever, flapping her wings clumsily and leaving bright red feathers strewn across the snow. The door is slightly ajar, the house just a little cold, but Elesis thinks of the warmth of sleeping by the fireplace with Rose beside her, and it gets a little warmer.

Rose is still sleeping when she goes back into the guest bedroom and lies down. She gathers her into her arms and lets out a long breath.

She thinks of flying, and going back home to help awaken Elsword's inner abilities as well, and of absolutely annihilating the castle and its stupid king, and the fire in her growls for more, it growls for blood.

Then she thinks of Rose, of going home with her, of living for her and being immortal for her sake. She thinks of being able to kiss Rose everyday, of the two of them just talking about mundane things in a tree again, of the house in the woods that she wants to call home.

 _I do love her._

* * *

 **A/N: yoooo I wrote 5.5k words in literally a single day wtf this is like a personal record**

 **the next chapter will be released on tuesday since it is technically the grand finale, and then the real last chapter will be uploaded... sometime soon**

 **it's legit like 30 degrees (celsius) here in toronto, canada like normally around this time of year i'm already wearing sweater vests but like rn i'm sitting in a tshirt and booty shorts**

 **heavily inspired by my favourite words ever, _magical arson bird_ , and fueled by a combination of _Lilith in Starlight_ from Homestuck Vol. 10 and _When We Were Young_ by Adele covered by Yehana of Pristin**

 **Perrihart turns into a falcon bc my research into Mongolian mythology said nothing about phoenixes but there were symbolic falcons in it so i was like ah well i guess it works**

 **~Marg**


	6. snow or ashes?

VI.

They part ways late in the afternoon that day, when Rose sees trees she recognises again and the wooden house in the distance peeks through the trees with the sun.

"Do you really have to go?" She asks, reaching to touch Elesis's shoulder softly. "You'll be back once you're done in the city, right?"

"I promise I'll be back," Elesis assures her. "I just don't want to put you in danger if things get too… Heated."

Rose can't help but smile, because even though Elesis could be flying towards her death, she's still making terrible jokes. "Stay safe without me, alright?" She says softly. "Don't go around burning things down out of control. You have fire, use it responsibly. You might be immortal and indestructible now, but the rest of us mortals aren't."

"Everything will be alright," Elesis says as she dismounts the horse. They watch it whinny one last time before fading to wind, finally freed of its duty so it can return to the skies. "I'll fly the rest of the way back to Elder, I guess. I could use a little practice."

"Then I'll walk back to the house." Rose slips off the side of her horse, patting its rump and finding her fingers only dipping into wind. "It's not too far away. I'll probably be home by dinnertime."

Elesis pulls her close, and Rose relaxes in her embrace, breathes in her scent and hopes it'll stay with her forever. "I'll be back tomorrow, the day afterwards tops," she says.

They stand together in silence for a few moments, and it's a solemn few seconds where words are pointless, time is meaningless, the world around them doesn't exist. Rose is lost in that moment, wrapped in Elesis's arms and love, and she's scared to leave it behind.

The world could burn to a crisp around them, and Rose wouldn't care.

"I love you," Elesis says simply, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be home soon."

"And I love you too," Rose hums, content. "Stay safe."

Almost hesitantly, she loops her arms around Elesis's waist to pull her in for a kiss. It lasts for much too long, because Rose finds herself lost afterwards, but at the same time it's nowhere near long enough because she's almost begging for more the moment it ends.

God, this is everything she's ever wanted, and it hurts to have to tear herself away from it. Travelling with Elesis was a blessing, but doing so while trying not to throw show her affection was torture. It's surreal thinking of how a month ago, they were around these parts, meeting for the first time because Rose was stupid enough to have shot Elesis's horse, and now, they can call each other home.

When Elesis pulls away, says her breathless goodbye, spreads her beautiful wings and flies away, Rose feels her heart breaking into a million pieces.

She lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and turns to the little house in the woods. Snow has eaten away at the footsteps they'd left when they set out the first time around. The weather should be getting warmer, but knowing this area, it won't for another month. The forest is very much alive, and Rose feels out of place.

Why didn't she go with Elesis to Elder? Why was she so hellbent on returning to the house, to the barn, to Maman and Nika? Why did she decide to leave Elesis just then?

 _Because she loves you_ , something inside tells her. _Because she doesn't want you to get hurt. Because this is the reason she set out on her journey, and she needs it to end._

Rose is stupid, _stupid_ for not having gone with Elesis, and she'll regret it for-

There's a creaking noise, and then the earth flips over as Rose goes flying through the air, tugged backwards by her foot. She crashes into the snow in a daze, a pile of bags and person and regret.

How could she have forgotten about the snares?

She gathers her bags around her, blinking back tears and wiping away prickling snow from her face. Her foot doesn't seem to have been broken, though the ropes wrapped tightly around her ankle are starting to get a little painful. She tries to untie it, to undo the knot, but her fingers are shaking and numb.

 _It's because she loves you_ , the voice inside says mockingly. _Because she doesn't want you to get hurt. Because this is_ her _journey, and she needs it to end._

Rose sits up against the tree and cries.

* * *

Feathers litter the snowy city when Elesis lands inside the city walls at dusk. She's still a sloppy flier, but she's gotten better overnight… Somewhat.

The glowing colours of the sunset are perfect for Elesis blend her bright plumage into. Unlike Perrihart Solace, who sports brilliant golds and minimal red, Elesis is a bird of scarlets and bright vermilions. Her talons sparkle in gold, razor sharp and deadly like the blade she forged.

Elesis is, in every way, a bird of fire.

As she lands back on the ground of the city, she drops her plumage and feels blood rush to her fingertips once more. Now that she knows she's a Firebird, something in her has changed, but it doesn't feel any different. She's still same old Elesis, just... Now she's some sort of magical arson bird.

She wonders how much Elsword has changed, how much change he'll see in her, how much her city has changed, as she picks up the feathers she's left on the snow. They melt through to the stony path below quickly, so Elesis finds herself fishing in the snow for the feathers she's shed.

(Where did they even come from on her person?)

(Elesis really doesn't want to know the answer to that question.)

The streets are all too familiar and at the same time stranger to her. The homes of some people have been boarded up, and chunks of broken wood line the streets. A stray cat meows at her from an alleyway, gravitating towards her warmth. Few people wander this street, but she hears the sound of people talking on another street.

Overall, it's not too much different from before she left. It's still shitty old Elder, broken and shabby because the king refuses to help the people repair their homes.

Elesis loves and hates it.

Her feet take her down the worn street, to the forge she once called her favourite place in the world. When this is all over, she's going to bring Rose to the forge, to see all the cool things that can happen when one puts fire to metal. She's going to make Rose the glasses she deserves and needs.

The forge is locked and silent, but Elesis peeks through the window and smiles. Elsword's favourite tongs are still marked with the little piece of string tied around the grip. A few new swords are lined up against the back wall. A list of orders is pinned to the wall, half completed. Overall, it's still the forge she grew up in, and the forge she'll be happy to return to.

One little thing stands out, however. The hammer she always used is gone from its usual shelf, and has been relocated to stand upright on a rack of its own. A bright red ribbon is wrapped around its handle, waiting for the return of its master.

Elesis feels a pang of guilt as she slips away from the forge window. She really did leave so abruptly that Elsword and Father had no time to grieve, and now, as she walks down the path she once took every day, she finds herself longing for Rose's comfort.

There's a soft light inside the house she once called home. Perhaps Father has been reading the newspaper, and he might not have gone to bed yet. Maybe someone just left a candle alight before they went to sleep, and forgot to put it out.

Elesis takes a breath and knocks on the door.

"Who could be knocking at this hour?" Says a voice all too familiar to her. "Be there in a moment!"

The door swings open, and Elsword's jaw drops.

"You're home," he says quietly. He's gotten taller, and he's finally started tying his hair back. A sparkling golden wedding band sits on his ring finger, an indication that he's gotten married while she was away. "It's been two years."

"It has." Elesis smiles, holding her arms out. "But I'm back."

Elsword wraps her in a bear hug, and they laugh, laugh through the tears.

* * *

Even with the snare bruise around her ankle and the ice shards still prickling at her face, Rose cannot feel anything. There is only her and the unforgiving cold around her, threatening to cut her off from all existence at any moment.

Rose is blinded in the cold of the forest that she once called home, and there is nothing to save her from it.

She stumbles between trees, tears frozen to her eyes as she feels around with both hands to prevent herself from running into any more trees. Every step she takes is cautious, aware that snares could be anywhere.

She sees, but she doesn't, which makes it all worse.

The trees and snow and sky blend together into one ashen landscape, and Rose has had enough, _enough_ , but she keeps going in the hope that she'll find the wooden house soon.

And when she does find it, the house is empty and cold, so Rose goes to the barn. It's been a month, after all, and even if Maman left for Elder, the animals cannot go with her.

Rose pushes open the barn doors and is immediately greeted by warmth and soft bleating. Alexei has been around here, to feed the cows and sheep and Elesis's horse - some of the hay bales have been ripped open. The animals all look at her inquisitively, like they've been waiting for her to come back.

"I'm back," she announces, voice faltering when she finds a lack of words to continue on with her story. "Yeah… I'm back."

She lets the bags slide off her shoulders as she moves to look at her animal friends. The sheep are all fluffy and not the cleanest. One of them butts her hand softly as she pets it. "You seem like a Maxime," she murmurs. "And you seem like a Helena."

The cows greet her as normal, with lots of grunts and licking her hand. Hebe nibbles at her fingers. "I'm sorry I took so long to come home," she tells them. "I had a lot of fun, and I didn't want it to end."

There's a whinny that makes Rose turn around. "And I'm sorry for shooting you the first time around," she says, patting Elesis's horse and stroking his mane. "You didn't deserve to get hurt because of me."

Her eyes grow soft. "Thank you for bringing Elesis to me."

The horse seems to understand her gratitude, and nuzzles her hand gently. Rose smiles as she thinks of Elesis, the graceful Firebird, riding into battle on this mighty steed, striking fear into the hearts of her enemies everywhere. Her sword drawn as she jumps off her mount and takes to the sky, spreading flame and ash through the land.

Her eyes narrow. "I should have gone with her," she muses, tangling her fingers through the horse's mane. "I should be fighting by her side. I'm not a delicate snowflake."

Elesis's horse whinnies his agreement. Rose smiles. "Great. Let me just leave a note real quick, in case someone comes home and finds me gone."

She climbs to the loft and digs through the hay, pulling out a charcoal pencil and a notepad. _Gone to find Elesis,_ she writes. _Don't worry about me. - Rose._

For dramatic flair, she draws a small feather beneath the note, dropping both the notepad and the pencil in a visible place afterwards before swinging her way back down to the ground, where Elesis's horse stands waiting for her.

"Let's go," she says, grabbing her musket and slinging its strap over her shoulder swiftly. "Elesis is probably still in flight above us. With enough luck, we should be able to make it to Elder by morning."

Rose mounts her steed and takes a deep breath before riding into the night.

* * *

"Elsword used to never shut up about you," Aisha jokes, pouring Elesis some warm tea. Elesis knows her well, and is pleased that her brother has married someone a little more sensible than he is. "Now, he never shuts up about his plans to burn down the castle. It's a strange change of heart."

"Well, it's heartwarming to know you haven't forgotten me," Elesis snarks back.

"So you're really the Firebird now?" Elsword asks almost hesitantly. "Are you going to have to live in a cave somewhere?"

"The Firebird who came here two years ago doesn't live in a cave," Elesis chides, opening her palm to summon a small burst of flame. "But yes, after this I'll probably have to move out wi-with Rose."

"Who's Rose?"

Elesis bites her lip. How can she explain Rose? A graceful, beautiful hunter who stole her heart?

"Rose is… my beloved," she says softly. "You know Edna Testarossa? The woman who runs the general store? Rose is her sister. We travelled together to find the Firebird. I promised her that I'd go home with her after I finished dealing with the king."

Elsword smiles. "That's good. She gives you a reason to fight, so you'll be stronger."

Little bursts of inspiration and wisdom like this remind Elesis so much of her brother before she left. Now, burns line his arms and face, and the little dark half-moons under his eyes tell a tale of exhaustion. He's grown up, and Elesis feels so guilty for not having watched it happen.

"How's Dad doing?" She asks, hoping to direct the subject away from her guilt-stricken thoughts. "Is he sleeping?"

Elsword's smile turns sad. "Yeah. He's upstairs. He got injured recently when he fell, and Aisha and I have been working doubly hard in the forge to cover for him while he recovers. Though I don't think he'll be returning to the forge," he adds as an afterthought, "so really we're just adjusting to our new lifestyle at this point."

"He really did plan out everything for the uprising, though," Aisha pipes. "We managed to get in contact with the princess who's due to marry the king's son. She's not exactly the biggest fan of his shady operations, either, but your father was able to convince her to help our cause. He really is a great man."

"Speaking of the uprising…" Elsword glances at her. "We should go inform everyone that it's happening tomorrow before curfew."

"That's true," Aisha sighs, smoothing down her skirt and getting up. "Elesis, your room is still vacant. You can go back to sleeping there if you'd like. Get rested. Tomorrow's a big day."

Elsword gives her one final hug and gets up to leave with his wife. "We got this," he grins, still retaining that not-quite humble smirk he had in their childhood. "Take a nap or two. Your army will be ready in the morning."

"Wait!" Elesis yelps, jumping up in her seat. Her tea splashes over her hands, but she doesn't really feel it anymore. "Can you ask Edna and Alexei to take Darya and head for Mrs. Testarossa's house? And Mrs. Testarossa too, if she's here."

"Will do."

Elsword and Aisha shuffle out the door quickly, leaving Elesis alone in the house.

Well, not really alone.

She drains her tea and sets the mug on the kitchen counter, running her hands over the familiar surface before running up the wooden staircase. Her feet thump lightly on each step, but her heart is pounding and she can't hear anything else.

Elesis pushes open the door of a room she hasn't stepped into for two years, and looks at the sleeping figure of her father bathed in moonlight.

He looks so peaceful that Elesis feels like she's intruding on some sort of god-given moment, but she can't bear to tear herself away. This is the man who raised her, after all, the man who lived through the death of his wife and brought up their two children by himself, the man held her hand when she was a child and led her through fire. In her eyes, he is a hero in red.

Elkashu Sieghart is still the biggest role model in Elesis's life, and no amount of awakened fire will change that.

She kneels at his bedside, and he turns over in his sleep and opens his eyes, blinking and smiling sleepily at her. "Elesis."

"Hey Dad," she whispers, "I'm back."

"And so you are," he hums, reaching over to brush a loose strand of hair out of her face. "You've been gone two years. I'm still pretty sure I'm dreaming. Have you found what you're looking for?"

"Yeah, I guess," Elesis says.

"Are you happy, Elesis?"

It catches her off guard for a moment. _Is_ she happy?

Elesis thinks of Rose, thinks of the house in the woods, feels guilt wash over her as she thinks of Rose sitting alone by the fire.

 _No_ , she is not happy.

"Not yet, Dad," she admits. "I'm… Too far away from the person I call home."

Elkashu Sieghart sighs and closes his eyes. "Then I hope you'll both find your happiness soon."

As his gentle breathing fills the room again, Elesis realizes that that wasn't the first time she'd heard that sentence before.

* * *

Rose is running out of time, running out of hope, running out of the forest.

Elesis's horse, while strong, is a beast that requires fuel, and Rose has none. It slows down from a trot to a crawl sometime in the nether hours of the morning, when the world is still dark but a hazy cold descends upon the earth. No matter how much Rose tries to sooth it, spur it, beg it, the horse is tired too, and needs rest.

She's been riding for eight, nine hours, and she's exhausted. The horse is exhausted. The world has faded to black and white, and nothing moves forwards.

Rose wants to scream at the sky, but what she really needs is a solid eight hours of sleep to recover properly. Instead, she dismounts and pats the horse's rump, feeling it relax with the weight now off its back.

"If I salvage some needles from the pine trees, will you eat them?" She ponders, looking through the edge of the forest. There are no pine trees in sight. Rose doesn't know if the horse will eat _bark_ , per se, but she's also not willing to try and feed it bark.

She leans against a nearby tree and sighs. A quick nap for both her and the horse sounds really nice right about now. She closes her eyes and hopes sleep will find her before the cold lays its claim on its next victims.

" _ANNA!"_

Rose's eyes fly open instantly. "Maman!" She yells, cupping her gloved hands around her mouth. "Maman, I'm here!"

Through the ethereal morning mist, four riders on three horses appear, at the front of which is Maman, bundled in layers of blankets and waving furiously. "Roseanne Testarossa, what were you thinking?" Maman snaps, lifting her skirts and dismounting quickly.

"I wasn't," Rose replies breathlessly. "Oh god, Maman, I need to go join Elesis-"

"Wait, wait, wait," says another familiar voice, one Rose hasn't heard in two months. "Lemme get this right. You're romantically involved with _Elesis Sieghart?_ The girl they're calling the Firebird?"

Rose grins at Edna. "What, jealous?"

"Yeah, Edna, are you jealous of your kid sister?" Alexei chuckles, cradling the sleeping Darya in his arms. She's gotten a lot bigger than she'd been the last time Rose had seen her, though the cocoon of blankets might have something to do with it. "Good to see you, Rosie-Posie. Are you heading to Elder?"

"Yes, but m-Elesis's horse is exhausted, and so am I," Rose admits. "We're basically dead here in the cold."

Edna thinks for a moment. "Alex, switch horses with Rose. I'm taking her back to Elder with me."

"Wait up," Rose exclaims as Alexei shrugs and slips off his steed with Darya still in his arms. "You're coming with me?"

"Yeah, of course," Edna tells her sarcastically, "because I refuse to let my two youngest sisters blow up a castle without me. Get on the horse. We've still got a long way to go."

As Rose slips past Alexei, she sees Darya's soft sleeping face, her puffy lips and red cheeks. She can't wait to introduce her niece to her new aunt Elesis.

Alexei's horse is in much better condition than hers is, probably because they set out from Elder much later than she left the house. "Good luck," Maman says as she mounts her horse again. "And Anna?"

"Yes, Maman?"

Maman's eyes twinkle with mischief. "If, by the time you come back from Elder, I don't have a new daughter-in-law, I will give you a serious scolding, mademoiselle," she says. "Now go!"

Edna smirks as Rose climbs onto her new steed's back. "You'd better get ready, because they've done some serious planning for this thing. Cora would be absolutely devastated if I weren't there to watch her blow shit up."

"Maman knit her socks," Rose mumbles, the adrenaline of the encounter starting to fizz out and her exhaustion draining back in. "She knit you socks, too."

"Yeah, we know," Edna snorts as they start to trot towards Elder. "And we'll kick ass in Maman's socks too, because that's what we Testarossa girls do."

* * *

As the sun rises, Elesis takes a deep breath, inhaling the brilliant colours and feeling the fire inside her grow.

To her left stands Elsword's sensible and smart wife, Aisha, and to her right stands Rose's bookish but impish younger sister, Cora. They've been planning the defense of the city for some time now, to prevent fire from spreading across the city. Both are smart, reasonable women, and Elesis knows she can put her life in both their hands.

Elder is covered in snow eight out of the twelve months of the year, meaning the people mostly sustain themselves off animal protein and occasionally imported goods. Much like the capital of Xin, it's a large trade centre, but the permanent residents of the city know nothing but snow, snow and more snow… And ice.

In the early morning, when the sun fills the sky with fire, Elesis sees the city she grew up in come to life.

The elderly and young help pack the snow and ice that the able-bodied bring from the city outskirts into a wall of snow, a perfect ring around the castle that has been so loathed by the city. Little by little, the wall grows in thickness, until it is impenetrable even by the strongest battering rams.

Seeing the city come together like this warms Elesis's heart.

Elsword arrives with a torch in hand, blazing bright in the frigid morning. "You don't have to do this, you know," Elesis tells him. "You have the flame inside you as well - that feather was meant for you just as much as it was meant for me."

He shakes his head. "This is your moment to shine," he tells her, smiling. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair to drop two Firebirds on the city overnight. I think Dad would have a heart attack and then some."

"If you say so," she sighs, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "But for the record, you'll make a great Firebird, if and when you decide to awaken your fire."

"I'll learn from the best," he says. "I'm hella proud of you, Sis."

"And I'm beyond proud of you too, kiddo," Elesis chuckles, reaching _up_ to ruffle his hair. "Look at you, running a successful business and hitched to a wife who has you on a leash. You've grown up so much while I was gone."

She wants to just spew out all her adventures to her brother right there, but then a horn screeches and splits the morning air, leaving a clear sky afterwards. "A minute to burning," Elsword mutters, winking at Elesis. "Watch this."

He cups his hands around his mouth and inhales sharply. "FIRE!" He yells.

"BURN," the city yells in reply.

"FIRE!"

"BURN!"

All around her, the chanting is deafening. Elesis glances at Cora, who gives her a snarky grin, and Aisha, who smiles and gives her a double thumbs up.

She thinks of Rose, thinks of _home_ , and spreads her wings.

The first thing she sees when she rises into the air is a ring of soldiers, armed with lance and shield, around the castle. What's so strange about this is that they're motionless, they don't attack the icy wall like they should be. The soldiers simply stand and sway in place.

Elesis has the eyes of hawk, sharp and curious. She doesn't see soldiers, she sees toys, dolls. They are a ruse, an attempt to scare off the incoming civilians. The real soldiers have had enough with the king as well. They stand outside with the civilians, they stand on guard for the real Elder.

She lands on the highest tower of the castle, feeling a wave of bitter nostalgia wash over her. The roof tiles crumble to ash beneath her talons, and she has to remind herself that no, now is not the time to be getting angry and emotional.

The golden apple tree still stands in the middle of the courtyard in the castle, shining brightly and filled with _false warmth_ , Elesis realizes. Because the tree doesn't radiate warmth like she'd once thought it did. The tree needs fire to breed fire, and what better fire than love? With this king on the throne and his greedy hands on its apples, its warmth will never be genuine.

Elesis flutters down, enters a second story window, and lands on the window ledge of the king's personal bedchamber.

"So you've hunted me down again, Firebird," the monster growls. "Is this your petty revenge? Because I banished your chosen one from this city two years ago?"

He laughs dryly. "I hate this miserable dump of a city," he says. "I'm only here because otherwise I wouldn't have my pretty little apples, which you seem to love so much too, don't you? We're both only here because we want the shinies.

"How about I strike you up a deal? You get all the pretty apples you want, and in return, you work under _my_ orders, you protect _my_ shitty city, and you take _my_ command."

He reaches out his hand, as if to shake on it. "I know you've got a human form, pretty birdie. Take it or leave it, it's your choice."

Elesis smirks. "You play your cards well," she lies through her beak, letting her avian form fade away again and hoping her hood conceals her face as she grabs his hand. "Though I must say, I'm rather bad at following instructions."

"And why is that?"

She grins and flips her head up, her hood falling to her shoulders. "I don't take anyone's orders but my own," she growls, focusing all her anger into her palm.

The king screams as a hundred thousand degrees of pure flame fills his hand. Elesis lets go of his hand, and he takes off like a bullet through the castle, screaming for ice and _something, anything to relieve the pain_.

Elesis presses her palm to the wall of the room, feeling the heat in her veins flood to her fingertips and the wood of the wall beginning to ignite. She runs through the castle, letting her flame eat its terribly lavish interiors, one room at a time.

When she's satisfied that the entire castle is up in flames, she nods to herself and walks into the courtyard.

In the thousand year history of Elder, Elesis knows this tree has never even come close to dying. Flame cannot hurt it or its fruit, which is why the stupid king seeks refuge under its branches now.

"You've set my castle on fire," he says, "and you've got all my people riled up against me. But you can't hurt me, Firebird, not while I've got my gold."

And it's true. For every moment that the fire inches closer to the tree in the courtyard, the golden apples repel a little more of its smoke. There's no way she can make this fucker burn in hell, like he deserves.

There's suddenly a sound of grating metal, and Elesis finds her hand reaching for her sword as the tip of a rapier lingers within stabbing range of her heart. "One move, and you're dead, little Firebird," the king sneers. "Grab that sword and I'll lop your pretty head off. Turn into your abysmal bird and I'll turn you into roast chicken."

Her hand inches away from her sword, and the king smiles. "That's right. You can't hurt me, fire or not, but I can and will hurt you."

There's suddenly a scream. Someone is screaming her name. The king flinches and his sword jab goes wide.

A sharp pain goes through Elesis's side, too small to be a rapier but too centralized to be a knife. The world swims in red and gold.

The last thing Elesis registers is that the one screaming her name

was Rose.

* * *

Rose nearly throws herself into the flaming bookshelf as Elesis crumbles to ashes, to nothingness. Her sword clatters to the ground beside what remains of her. "ELESIS!" Rose screams, smoke ruining her already terrible vision. " _ELESIS!_ "

The king laughs triumphantly as he sheaths his sword and turns to her. "Thank you for finishing my job off for me," he says mockingly, giving her a gentlemanly bow. "I was wondering how I was going to destroy the little bitch. Didn't know Firebirds died like that, all ashes and smoke."

Rose knows Elesis will be back, but _when?_ It's her first time reincarnating from her ashes, after all. She doesn't know how long she'll be able to hold out in this smoke.

Then it hits her.

The king is standing in an area without smoke. The tree is safety.

She marches out of the burning castle, into the courtyard. "What, are you going to come avenge your little friend?" He cooes, prodding the pile of Elesis with his foot. "Such a shame she's gone. She could have made a great royal plaything, too."

Rose doesn't care whether or not she's got the kind of fire that Elesis and her brother have. In that moment, she is absolutely _livid_ and her fire wants _blood_.

She runs through the courtyard, screaming something unholy and incoherent to even herself, and crashes into the stupid king with the butt of her musket.

The sun rises over the castle ramparts.

* * *

 _Oh great. I'm dead._

 _No you're not_ , says the other voice.

 _Oh_ , Elesis says. _Are you Rosso?_

 _Yes, yes_ , he laughs. _I suppose Solace must have told you about Kai and I._

 _Am I going to see you every time I die?_

 _Likely so. It may be our only time to have conversations. I mean, Perrihart isn't a bad teacher, but his lessons really are bland._

 _Do you regret it?_ She asks. _Becoming the Firebird, I mean._

 _It was painful. But with Kai and the other by my side, I lived every moment of it in dignity._

A gentle shove pushes her through the fog.

 _Now go. Your goddess is awaiting your return._

 _My goddess,_ Elesis murmurs.

 _Rose._

* * *

The king staggers back, and Rose takes a breath of smokeless air, feels her lungs relax. "That's right," she screams, "get out! Go back to hell, you monster!"

"Ha! You call me a monster?" He sneers, his robes now aflame. "You defend that monster, that Firebird, with your life? Why?"

Rose is about to find a stupid insult to throw back when she hears footsteps and a familiar sword emerging from its scabbard. "Because we love each other," Elesis says simply, stepping over to stand beside Rose, "and with that alone, we are more powerful together than you could ever dream of."

She grabs Rose's hand, to remind her she's alive, she's there, and Rose exhales, relaxes because this is it.

They rush into the flame together, and the king of Elder burns, burns, with the rest of his cursed castle.

* * *

When the sun has finally come up and floats high in the sky, Elesis and Rose emerge from the golden apple tree, where they'd been having a lovely conversation about pickles and butter.

The fire seems to have stopped, like it's understood Elesis's plea for peace. Fine ash lands all across Elder, like a blanket of white snow.

Elesis looks at Rose, and Rose smiles back at her.

Because they're free, free to love and to fly together across the mountains.

So Elesis gathers Rose in her arms and kisses her, and Rose brushes the ashes out of Elesis's hair, and they laugh and laugh and laugh.

* * *

 **A/N: wow I actually finished in time**

 **but like this was supposed to be a major project to challenge myself before I turned 16, and here I am, 16 years old and having this crazy fic compiled within a month to my name, and you bet your ass i'm hella proud of it**

 **so yeah this is technically the last chapter of snow or ashes? but there will be an epilogue soon**

 **i can't believe a month ago i sat myself down and was like "let's write a story about elerose but with magical arson birds"**

 **~MargaritaDaemonelix**


	7. Epilogue: en hiver nous dansons ensemble

VII.

"Elesis, love, we've got mail!" Rose calls as she steps through the front door, her pristine suit looking just a little crumpled. "Ah, it's from the Solaces!"

"Have they relocated again?" Elesis ponders, walking in from the kitchen with a large soup ladle in hand to give Rose a quick kiss. "It's only been, what, twenty years since they last moved."

"Quite the contrary," Rose says. "They're inviting us to go on vacation with them."

Elesis groans. "And watch them go into honeymoon mode again?" Her face wrinkles into a soft frown. "Plus, we don't exactly have the money to spare right now."

Rose hums as she kicks her heels aside, shrinking her back down to around Elesis' height. The stilettos clatter to a stop against the wall. "Maybe if we stopped running the bread machine every other day," she teases. "We could save a lot on our electricity bill."

Elesis pouts. "Look, this is the twenty-first century," she says. "There's all this fancy new technology. That means I can make bread whenever I want."

"The grocery store downstairs has pretty good bread too," Rose counters. "And it's not half as expensive as your experimenting with the bread machine."

"Mmm. Let's put the vacation letter on hold," Elesis decides. "I made us beef barley stew!"

The scent of slightly burnt beef causes them both to make a face. "Shit," Elesis mutters, running back to the kitchen. "I hate stovetop cooking."

Stovetop cooking seems to hate her too. Elesis stirs through the pot of stew with her ladle, hoping it hasn't burned too much. Fortunately, there isn't much to burn - it's just dinner for the two of them, after all.

Elesis smiles fondly as she remembers the days when learning to roast a pheasant was hard to manage. Rose's Maman was magical in her own way, and her magic manifested in the form of her delicious cooking. No matter how much they try to replicate it, even with their pantry of spices, Elesis and Rose just can't capture the essence of her cooking.

Oh, how the years have passed. Elesis thought that at the age of twenty-three, with her goddess Rose at her side and fire at her fingertips, she'd seen everything, but at three hundred and forty-seven, she's only starting to understand that she'll never truly see everything. Some of her neighbours who are well into their eighties tell her she's blessed with beautiful youth. Elesis always exchanges a glance with Rose and tries not to laugh.

Elesis was present at the birth of Yin and Yang, the twins of Add and Ara, and with Rose became their co-godmother. She helped bring the old Abaddon chiefs to their knees, and witnessed the execution of Ran. She watched her brother take his first shaky flight, while Rose and Aisha watched on the ground below, cheering. She watched Elder flourish into a beautiful trading centre in the Far North.

Elesis also watched Rose's Maman pass on, and held Rose tightly afterwards as each of her sisters joined Maman in heaven. She cried with Rose as Darya left them as well. She saw Ara's anguish in her old age as Add died in her arms, and then wept as Ara lost herself in her sleep. She watched Yin and Yang grow up and grow old and die, and she watched each of their descendants grow up and grow old and die. She nearly lost her will to live when her father breathed his last.

Elesis and Rose have kept careful track of each generation of Add and Ara's descendants, and Edna and Alexei's descendants. They're on the thirteenth generation now. One of Add and Ara's descendants lives just down the street, and is helping them put together the story of her ancient heritage.

Some of their new friends do know of their immortality. Most of Rose's great-nieces and -nephews call her Auntie Rosie, Auntie Rose, Auntie Roseanne, regardless of how old they are. The Solaces are a little more secretive, living in isolation so no one can find out their little secret. Elsword and Aisha barely care. Both of them have seen the force of war tear apart nations, and prefer to have friends while they still can.

Being immortal has connected Elesis to other immortals. Caerwyn Ventus and Artemis Ebalon, the fae and moon-child that Perrihart Solace calls his best friends, have returned from their ethereal homes to visit the Solaces. The ancient sage Adamas Gaia pops up occasionally in alleyways, catching Rose or Elesis off guard on their way home.

Elesis has become more and more convinced over the years that reincarnation does happen. Nearly a hundred years ago, she encountered a girl in New York that reminded her all too much of Ara in her youth. Sometimes she'll catch the eye of a little girl who looks just a little too much like Darya, or a young woman whose mischievous smile reminds her of Cora. Sometimes it's painful, seeing them again.

Sometimes it's joyful just to be able to remember the past. Today, as Rose makes herself a mug of golden apple tea and takes a careful sip of it, Elesis is reminded once more that even though her immortality has its prices, in the end, she is beyond blessed to be with Rose every day of her long, long life.

"Hey Rosie-Posie?"

The steam from the tea fogs up her glasses. "Yes?"

Elesis smiles. "I love you."

Rose's response is echoed in her jubilant grin and gentle kiss.

Three hundred years later, Elesis finally comes to terms with her immortality. Yes, there is loss, but there is also growth, and there is lasting love that has survived all its tests.

Eternity might burn away everything else around her, but with Rose by her side, Elesis thinks she can handle it.

 _Fin._

* * *

 **A/N: and here we come to a symbolic end, three hundred years (read: a year) later**

 **a year later, i'm now seventeen, and my writing has evolved so much. i often think about this when i'm drawing, or writing, or singing, or dancing, but i wonder whether my younger self would be impressed by what older me has created, and i think about all the future content i can create.**

 **i think i might come back and revisit this universe sometime, or maybe play with another fairytale. for now, i have more than enough on my hands, and anything new will have to be delegated to next year.**

 **thank you to all my readers for supporting _snow or ashes?_ , and a special thank you to everyone who's left reviews. i hope my future work will continue to bring joy to everyone!  
**

 **~Marg**


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